Futures to serve up way forward for tennis in Hong Kong

It is aptly named the Hong Kong Futures. Made up of five tournaments - three for men and two for women - the event starts next week at Victoria Park and holds the key to the future, says the Hong Kong Tennis Association. That is, getting tennis back into the Sports Institute under the elite category umbrella, and a revival on the international scene.

For the first time in a decade, Hong Kong will host an International Tennis Federation Futures tournament. It is the lowest rung on both the men's and women's professional circuit: all five events offering only US$10,000 each in prize money. But what cannot be quantified is the experience it will offer local youngsters, who can test their abilities without having to leave home.

Herbert Chow Siu-lung, one of the masterminds behind the move to get ITF Futures tournaments back in town, said: "Playing these tournaments at home will give our youngsters the chance to measure how good they are against their peers from around the world, and to see if taking up the sport full-time is an option."

The winds of change are gusting through the Hong Kong Tennis Association, since a new committee took over last year. Herbert Chow and fellow council member Oscar Chow Vee-tsung believe Hong Kong tennis needs a radical new direction.

Although not related, the Chows share the belief that competition, and not training, should be the bedrock for the renaissance of the sport, which has hit rock bottom in the city.

Hong Kong was relegated to Group Three in the Davis Cup competition this year. The highest-ranked men's players are Andy Lau Chun-hin and Brian Yeung Pak-long, both 1,655 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings. Zhang Ling is ranked 244 in the Women's Tennis Association listings. The sport has been out of the elite training academy at Sha Tin for the past five years and its chances of getting back look remote.