For former Hong Kong women’s tennis number one Venise Chan Wing-yau, Covid-19 has only reinforced her life philosophy of never settling and always exploring. The 31-year-old stepped away from the sport in 2013 because of injury after career highlights that included being Asia’s number two junior, Hong Kong’s youngest women’s singles title winner, and the first player since Tong Ka-po to win the CRC Open’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She has kept busy with her full-time finance gig, ascent to becoming the city’s top pickleball player and inaugural tournament director , and a spontaneous Mrs Universe 2020 entry. “It’s actually pretty funny. I was talking to my university friends and was happy to try it,” said Washington and Cambridge alumni Chan of entering the competition, where she was crowned Mrs Universe East Asia after finishing 13th overall, the highest of any previous Chinese or East Asian entrant. The pageant is open to married, divorced and widowed women around the world – this iteration’s theme of “against violence” intended to shed light on victims of domestic abuse. “We sometimes feel like we’re already past the age for anything and thought maybe we should go for it. I believe beauty isn’t restricted to the unmarried – all women are uniquely beautiful. It was kind of for fun and I knew they were only doing it online this year. There’s a difference between online and stage presence.” “You need to have the courage and bravery to stand up there,” added Chan, clarifying that confidence comes under a different bracket. “In Hong Kong, if you go for things like that then they will try to find all kinds of negative things about you and talk about it all over the news. “It was also about the timing. [Beauty pageants] are not something I’m most afraid of, but when I was younger and competing as an athlete I didn’t think I was pretty in that Hong Kong or Asian standard sense. I had muscles and didn’t think beautiful would be part of my career so it never crossed my mind. I was just focused on school and tennis.” Now that courts are shut until further notice – ruling out any kind of tennis or pickleball, be it competitive, leisure or teaching – Chan said she is ironically much busier than usual. Fans will likely see her double-downing on new interests dancing, modelling and wakesurfing. “Since Covid-19 I’ve felt there isn’t much time left for me to do what I want, so I try to do as much as I can,” Chan said, who got married in 2019 and wants to start a family soon. Circumstances also postponed her plans to partner up with world number two-ranked pickleball player and friend, Irina Tereschenko, at tournaments in the US. “I still love tennis and it’s rewarding to share my passion and teach new generations. I also do social media and brand ambassador stuff. I actually had background roles in two films recently. It’s something new. I don’t know if I’m trying to lean towards that side of things, but these different doors let me see ways to go in future. In these uncertain times, we must all learn to be flexible and creative.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Venise Chan 陳詠悠 (@venisechan) As for the future of Hong Kong women’s tennis – a torch borne by the likes of trailblazer Tong , Chan, former teammate and freshly retired Zhang Ling and incumbent number one Eudice Chong – Chan called for relentless positivity amid uncertain closures. “ For Zhang Ling who retired last year, I think a lot of it was to do with age and Covid-19. For Eudice and Cody [Wong Hong-yi], it’s fine. If you think negatively, maybe you lose time and it can be a really bad thing. “But with a positive mindset, you can think of it as a year or two to train and plan better – to plan for right after this situation,” Chan said, supporting the Hong Kong Tennis Association (HKTA) in its attempts to persuade the government to reopen courts. “When I was young and playing international tennis competitions, I had one injury where I broke my finger and took three months off. It was pretty crucial for timing but I worked on other things, like running on the beach to work on fitness. Then I returned so much better. Train different so when you step back on to the court you’re at a higher level than your competitors. “I really like that the [HKTA] is developing and bringing attention to very good players like Eudice and Cody. I hope they can continue that. I really like Eudice – in 2012 she was in Hong Kong’s Federation Cup team that I was representing and captaining. “She was young and upcoming at the time and I can see why she’s doing so well. I can see her in a grand slam. She has a chance. They all need to keep working hard but I think she has ‘it’.”