In spite of the mid-summer heat, a number of Junior NTS and TG players have been actively honing their skills in overseas competition recently. While Abigail Chiu was engaging in USTA-sanctioned tournaments in North America, others were taking part in the National 14U & 12U Championships up north in China.

Over in Texas, USA, Abigail Chiu, the number one-ranked player in the G10 age group in Hong Kong and the reigning HK National G10 singles champion, wasted no time in chalking up two G12U titles already.

En route to capturing the NRH Championship (CMZ), she beat No. 4 seed Elizabeth Burgos, 6-0, 6-2, in the round of sixteen and then top-seeded Emily Funk, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals.

Funk currently ranks third in the G12 division in the state of Texas.

Abigail then followed that up by winning the SPENCO ATA Summer Open the following week. As the No. 1 seed, she easily saw off second-seeded Molly Fisher, 6-0, 6-1, in the final.

Earlier in June, Abigail also reached the semifinals of the Harlingen Championship (CMZ) where she took out No. 8 seed Anjali Singal in the round of 16 before going down in the semifinals against No. 1 seed and eventual champion, Carlin Knezevich.

Meanwhile, over in Hebei earlier this month, Christy Chan, Suki Law, Oscar Cheung, Maggie Ng, Eudice Chong, and Jack Wong took part in Comps 3 & 4 of the China National 12U Championships. However, the players from the territory were met with some stiff competition, as they were essentially competing against mostly full-time players from all over China.

Although Coach-in-Charge, Michael Lai, reports that the opposition possessed a clear upper hand in terms of overall fitness, footwork, and agility around the court, it was nonetheless a very good learning experience for the HK players and that the two-week excursion was a valuable source of match-play experience.

Currently in Beijing are Vivian Lin, Lucy Tang, and Martin Lee who are competing in Comps 7 & 8 of the China National 14U Championships. Leo Liu is the Coach-in-Charge.

Incidentally, former Chinese National No. 1 and WTA Touring pro, Hu Na, who has since settled in Taiwan after her playing days, is also taking three juniors to compete in Beijing.

Six years ago, she had handpicked this trio from the Ami peoples belonging to Taiwan Aborigines ethnic background and sponsored them to full-time training and accommodation at a private tennis club in the city of Taipei (See original story in Chinese).

Hu Na was ranked as high as No. 48 (29 Feb 1988) in the world in singles and No. 49 (25 Jun 1990) in doubles.

Lastly, a Guangzhou Training Camp involving friendly matches with players from the Guangzhou Tennis School at the Tianhe Sports Centre is also scheduled for August 18-22. Teresa Shene Pui Yee, Ko Man Hon, and Jack Wong are some of the Junior NTS and TG members that will be going. The training camp, however, is not limited to Junior NTS/TG members.

Eric Chung will be Chaperone/Coach-in-Charge.