Hong Kong tennis prodigy Coleman Wong rubs shoulders with Andre Agassi as he shows promise in Paris
The 12-year-old narrowly loses out in Future Aces final but continues to shine
Hong Kong tennis prodigy Coleman Wong continued to show signs of his burgeoning potential despite suffering a narrow defeat in the Longines Future Aces final in Paris.
In front of watching tennis legend Andre Agassi – who is in town coaching 12-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic at the French Open – the 12-year-old was beaten 2-4, 4-3, 7-6 by Poland’s Martyn Pawelski.
The opening two sets were first to four games, with the match going to a deciding tiebreaker on the clay court in Paris’ famous La Defense financial district.
“I’m disappointed to lose a close match but happy to make it to the final,” Wong told the South China Morning Post. “My opponent played well and it has been a great experience learning many things here.”
The tournament, which brought together 20 young male players under 13 from 20 different countries, was another positive step in Wong’s fledgling career over recent months.
He also qualified in April as one of Hong Kong’s representatives for the UK HSBC National Finals to be held at Wimbledon later this year.
Wong claimed one of four available spots after making it to the boys’ final of the Road to Wimbledon Hong Kong tournament at the Victoria Park tennis courts, where he picked up plenty of tips from HSBC ambassador Tim Henman, the former world No 4 and four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
Wong, who turns 13 next week, missed out on winning the prize of a yearly scholarship paid until his 16th birthday after his defeat in the Paris final.
But he did get to take part afterwards in an exhibition match with Agassi and Alex Corretja, former coach to world No 1 Andy Murray and a two-time French Open runner-up.
