Coleman Wong Chak-lam said he felt he “belonged” on the tennis grand-slam stage despite going down to a straight-sets defeat in the opening round of Wimbledon qualifying this week.
Hong Kong’s first men’s or women’s representative at Wimbledon in 70 years, Wong suffered an identical fate when he made his major championship debut, at the same stage of last month’s French Open.
The 20-year-old has nonetheless had the best year of his embryonic career, climbing the world rankings from 477 last October to his current 172. In March, he qualified for his first Masters 1000 main draw, in Miami, and late last year he reached successive Challenger Tour finals and the Asian Games quarter-finals.
The wins have dried up of late, but Wong insisted he was content with his progress following a 6-4, 6-4 loss to world No 118 Zachary Svajda on the grass in southwest London.
“There are so many good players around the world, I am happy to be among them, and I feel like I belong here,” Wong said.
“Having played the French Open, this grand slam didn’t feel like going into the unknown. I’m comfortable on the grass, but the level of the players here is really high.
“It was disappointing to lose a tight match, but the experience was valuable.”
Wimbledon’s main draw gets under way on Monday, when Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will begin his men’s singles title defence. Novak Djokovic is racing to overcome a knee injury in time to chase a record-equalling eighth crown.
Wong hopes his undercard exploits pique Hongkongers’ interest. The son of teacher parents, he wants to show the public that sport is a legitimate career path.
“It is not easy [to reach a slam], and I am happy to be one of the few [Hongkongers] who have done it,” Wong said.
“I would love to inspire more Hong Kong people to play tennis, or even treat tennis as a career, like me.”
The third Hong Kong player – after Ip Koon-hung and Edwin Tsai in the 1950s – to feature at Wimbledon, Wong trained at Majorca’s Rafa Nadal Academy from the age of 17.
Before his All England Club debut, Wong used his famous connection to “receive a lot of advice and help” from two-time Wimbledon champion Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni.
Wong said the transition from the clay season “required me to change my game, from hitting more spin to hitting flatter”.
“I prefer grass,” Wong said. “I found the clay difficult, but I feel great playing tennis, and always try my best whatever the surface.”
A junior doubles champion at both the US Open and Australian Open, and singles semi-finalist at the 2022 junior US Open, Wong noted a climb in “intensity and consistency” in the senior ranks.
“They will not give you any easy chances, you have to earn them,” Wong said. “In juniors, you get some free points, so it is a huge difference.”
The stiff competition has been underlined by an ongoing run of seven first-round defeats in eight tournaments, including those two grand-slam losses. Wong is chasing quick improvement; by comparison, his Wimbledon conqueror Svajda is 21, while China’s 19-year-old Shang Juncheng made the Australian Open third round this year and is closing on the world’s top 100.
Wong’s primary 2024 ambition is to reach December’s Next Gen finals, for the world’s best under-21s. He stands ninth in qualifying, with the leading seven gaining automatic spots.
