Who is Coleman Wong, the Hong Kong tennis phenom with two junior grand slams, Rafael Nadal’s backing, and world No 1 dreams?
- From dominating the Victoria Park courts to training alongside the ‘King of Clay’, here’s what you need to know about the highly rated teen
- ‘I always want to win tournaments, not just to try to compete,’ says reigning US and Australian Open boys’ doubles champion
Biography
Coleman Wong was born on June 6, 2004 in Hong Kong to academic parents. He has one older sister “who likes to study a lot”. He first picked up a racket aged five, and though the family “haven’t really touched a [tennis] ball”, they have been fostering his tennis dreams ever since.
They have never pressured him out of the sport – on the contrary, they were “very open” to him becoming an athlete, and educate themselves about competitions and recovery.
Wong has represented Hong Kong at the Davis Cup once and is a five-time ITF junior circuit singles winner. He reached a career-high ranking of No 1,015 in doubles this month, and a career-high singles ranking of No 1,086 last November.
He is managed by industry powerhouse IMG – its international branch, not Asia-Pacific – suggesting he is destined for tennis greatness as he prepares to move to the seniors.
Rafa Nadal Academy
With a major title in the bag – and more space to manoeuvre given he was in the US – he decided to explore his options for proceeding competitions. He had also been without a full-time coach having parted ways with former Hong Kong women’s No 1 Tong Ka-po last summer.
After being invited to multiple tennis centres around the world, Wong ultimately picked the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain last November for both its reputation and proximity to junior tournaments. He still received funding from the Hong Kong Tennis Association and resources from the Hong Kong Sports Institute.
Describing the entry process to local sports journalist Emil Cheung on Instagram live, Wong said it was Nadal’s former coach and uncle Antonio – or “Uncle Toni” – who observed and delegated the juniors.
The Nadals had won 16 grand slams together, giving Toni the mantle of the most successful coach in tennis history until Novak Djokovic’s Marian Vajda took over in 2020.
“He assessed our levels and put us into groups. I was put into the top one with three or four other boys’ and girls’ juniors,” Wong said, shouting out Academy coaches James Allemby and Dani Armengol, and its sports nutrition and psychology teams.
“[Nadal] really trains for a long time. He was still practising when we were taking a break. I asked him once, ‘what were you doing at my age?’ and he said ‘at your age, I was about to win the senior French Open’,” Wong told on.cc.
The pair have linked up again while gunning for their respective Melbourne silverware. “Yes, I saw Rafa at the Open,” Wong told the Post. “He asked how I did and told me that I need to trust myself, believe, and the results will come automatically”.
Singles over doubles
Although Wong has made a bigger name in the doubles scene so far – forming impressive “chemistry” with Australian Open Boys’ singles finalist Kuzuhara and France’s Max Westfall at last year’s US Open – he still much prefers the singles game.
“I think of doubles as a bonus. Singles is where you make a name and earn a more stable income,” he told Cheung mid-tournament, setting out his Open target. “I want to win both the singles and doubles, though.”
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History-making Coleman Wong thanks supporters after US Open victory
Three years on, he explained, “I have developed this champion mentality since I was young. I always want to win tournaments, not just to try to compete, but to actually win”.
With local media gushing over his powerful service and consistent aces, Wong said he trains to improve it every day while imitating “the best servers in the world”.
He added that while he used to take from Federer’s game most, he now watches the 21-year-old World No 9 Auger Aliassime’s trajectory, while also keeping tabs on Japanese trailblazer Kei Nishikori’s speed and footwork, and Gael Monfils’ “explosiveness – they say he can run 100m as fast as the national French athletics team”.
Hong Kong forever
Taken aback by the sheer amount of Melbourne-based Hong Kong fans cheering for him from the stands, Wong said the local support gives him “so much motivation to fight for every point – I want to tell them I will try my 120 per cent every single match”.
He also requested to deliver his post-championship speech in Cantonese as there were many Hong Kong fans in the Margaret Court Arena.
In a city that has perennially been less-than-favourable for athletes to thrive in, Wong is even more honoured to lead the way for aspiring Hong Kong tennis players.
“In Hong Kong, it’s tough to find a place where people are chasing and working towards the same dream,” he said last year amid an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
“The mentality is a bit different. Hong Kong families need [children] to go to good colleges. There have not been many professional tennis players from Hong Kong because it’s a big risk.
“I really need to thank the Hong Kong fans and media. I’m very happy that more people in Hong Kong know me, Coleman Wong, and know that tennis a big thing here.
“I want to give them a message. I know it’s been a very tough year for everyone, and sometimes we have the thought of giving up and stuff. But you just need to believe, just like I do. Just keep reminding yourself to not lose the passion and believe that you can do it.”
