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Editorial
Coleman Wong joins other Hongkongers making their mark in elite sports
Recent performances at high-level tennis, table tennis and multisport events show a sporting culture is beginning to emerge in the city
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Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
Hong Kong’s sports stars are exceeding expectations, upsetting the odds with surprise victories that bode well for the future. Top-level tennis is fiercely competitive, but Coleman Wong Chak-lam, 21, made history at the US Open in New York. Wong battled through three qualifying rounds to become the city’s first player to reach the main draw in a grand slam tournament in the modern era.
That was impressive, but he didn’t stop there. The tennis ace, with a global ranking of 173 at the time, beat 71st-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round and 85th-ranked Adam Walton in the second to become the first Hong Kong player to reach the third round of a major tournament.
His extraordinary run ended with a narrow five-set defeat to world No 15 Andrey Rublev on the Grandstand court. Wong has made a big impression.
He has worked hard for his success, moving to Spain during the Covid-19 pandemic to play at tennis great Rafael Nadal’s academy and embracing extra-long training sessions to prepare for the US Open.
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