2025 Davis Cup Juniors
The Hong Kong, China under-16 contingent of Walter Tam, Richie Choi, Jason Fu, Jose Blasi (Vice Captain), and Gavin Suen (Fitness Coach) travelled to Shymkent, Kazakhstan, for the Asia/Oceania Qualifying. The team was accorded a No. 6 seeding and was drawn in Group B together with 4th seed Japan, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
Walter Tam and Richie Choi both won their singles in straight sets against Indonesia and Pakistan respectively to see TeamHK top the group alongside Japan with 2-0 records. However, Japan beat Hong Kong, China 3-0 to qualify for the knockout stage as group winner and drew host nation Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, China qualified for the knockout stage as group runner-up and drew No. 3 seed Korea.
Earlier this year at the Asia-Pacific Elite 14 & Under Trophy 2025, Richie Choi defeated Kim Dongjae 4-6 6-2 [10-7] en route to the final. However, the No. 462-ranked Korean turned the tables here by winning 6-1 6-2 against the No. 846-ranked Choi to give his side an early 1-0 lead. Kim was the dominant force on the GSPDP ITF ATF 14U Team to Europe in 2024, claiming titles at Tournoi Loire Vallee and the Int. Deutsche Tennismeisterschaft.
At the one spot, Walter Tam was up against an in-form Kim Dongmin, who captured back-to-back J60 titles at Sunchang and Yanggu in the lead-up to Shymkent. It was even-steven between them in the first set until 5-5 when Tam had a break point with Kim serving down 30-40. However, the Korean conjured a great serve to save it, held serve, and then took the tiebreak 7-2. He rode with the momentum and secured the second set 6-2 to cement a 2-0 victory for his team and passage to the World Finals at the expense of Hong Kong, China.
Against No. 1 seed Australia in the 5th-8th Place Playoffs, Jason Fu started in singles for the first time, while Richie Choi played at the one spot also for the first time. However, world No. 222 Ymerali Ibraimi and No. 344 Jeffrey Strydom both won in straight sets to give the Aussies a 2-0 victory. Hong Kong, China then beat Uzbekistan 2-0 with Fu and Tam in singles to conclude this year’s campaign in 7th place overall.
Hong Kong, China has beaten Australia before, most recently in the quarterfinals of the Asia/Oceania Qualifying when Jack Wong and Jackie Tang defeated Alex de Minaur and Oliver Anderson in the deciding doubles to put TeamHK into the Finals that year at the expense of the Aussies.
When Hong Kong, China finished third at the 2024 Asia/Oceania Qualifying, the team comprised of No. 157 Jack Cheng, No. 468 Nicholas Cheng, and No. 884 Walter Tam. At No. 157, Jack Cheng was the third highest-ranked player during the qualifying that week behind only No. 120 Chen Kuan-Shou of Chinese Taipei and No. 136 Ryo Tabata of Japan. The HK No. 1 went undefeated in singles until he lost to Kazakhstan’s No. 1 Zangar Nurlanuly in the semifinals.
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At this year’s Asia/Oceania Qualifying, the ten highest-ranked players were Ymerali Ibraimi of Australia at No. 222, followed by China’s Hu Jia at No. 292, Aussie Nikolas Baker No. 301, Lu Hanlei of China at No. 310, Korea’s Kim Dongmin No. 318, Japan’s Kanta Watanabe No. 332, Chinese Taipei’s Mao Kuan-Huai No. 337, Aussie Jeffrey Strydom No. 344, Takahiro Kawaguchi No. 420, and Motoharu Abe No. 421.
The top-seeded Australians failed to qualify for the Finals. They lost to Chinese Taipei to advance to the knockout stage as a group runner-up and ended up facing No. 2 seed China in the quarterfinals. World No. 310 Lu Hanlei beat No. 301 Nikolas Baker before the highest-ranked player in Shymkent, world No. 222 Ymerali Ibraimi beat No. 292 Hu Jia 1-6 6-2 6-2 to level at 1-1. However, Hu Jia and Lu Hanlei defeated Ymerali Ibraimi and Jeffrey Strydom 6-2 7-6(3) in the deciding doubles.
About the Davis Cup Juniors
The ITF’s International Team Competition for players aged 16 & Under was launched in 1985 as the World Youth Cup. This event was re-branded in the mid-2000s as the Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas. Now, it is called Davis Cup Juniors.
This age bracket was chosen as a critical period in a player’s development and gave an opportunity for young players to enjoy a taste of the special demands of team membership in a competitive environment. Except for the host nation, every team must compete in tough regional qualifying each year―Africa, Asia/Oceania, Europe, North/Central America & Caribbean, and South America―to make it through to the Finals.
Notable past participants of this competition included Todd Woodbridge, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Lorenzo Musetti, to name a few.
Australia is a six-time champion, but Japan is the only team from Asia to win it and they did it twice in 2010 and 2019. Korea was runner-up in 2013 and 2014, while Chinese Taipei was third in 2007.
2025 Final Positions (Brackets denote seedings):
1. Japan(4)
2. Korea(3)
3. China(2)
4. Chinese Taipei(5)
————————————- Top 4 qualified for Finals
5. Australia(1)
6. Kazakhstan
7. Hong Kong, China(6)
8. Uzbekistan
9. New Zealand(8)
10. Thailand
11. India(7)
12. Pakistan
13. Iran
14. Indonesia
15. Malaysia
16. Jordan
2025 Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge
This year’s Hong Kong, China under-16 team consisted of Nina Wang, Chloe Wong, Hebe Leung, Andy Lau (Vice Captain), and Gavin Suen (Fitness Coach). The girls were drawn in Group 3 together with No. 3 seed Korea, No. 8 seed New Zealand, and Kyrgyzstan. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage with the top 4 teams qualifying for the Finals.
In the first match against the No. 8-seeded Kiwis, Hebe Leung got the team off to a great start by defeating New Zealand 18U National Championships 2024 quarterfinalist Emily Dunn. However, world No. 583 Yashwitha Reddy, who had already captured two singles and three doubles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors this year, levelled the tie at 1-1. Nina Wang and Chloe Wong then took the opening set of the deciding doubles before narrowly losing in a third set super-tiebreak against Yashwitha Reddy and Audrey Tran 4-6 6-3 [12-10].
Then, in the second match against No. 3 seed Korea, Hong Kong, China was met with a side featuring three top 200 players in Choo Yesung No. 196, Sim Siyoen No. 197, and Yeri Hong No. 199. Their number one, Choo Yesung, was a member of the Korean team that went to the BJKCJ World Finals in 2024. Hong Kong, China was unable to hold off the Koreans and dropped to 0-2 in the group. However, the girls won their next four matches in a row against Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia respectively to finish 9th overall at this year’s Asia/Oceania Qualifying in Shymkent.
Note that in the 9th-12th Place Playoffs against Thailand, the girls were only a couple of points away from defeat. Trailing 1-0, the match against Jinnipa Trachoovanich at the one spot went to a third set super-tiebreak before Nina Wang prevailed 6-1 3-6 [13-11]. Then, in the last match against Malaysia, the two sides split the singles, but Hebe Leung and Chloe Wong managed to beat Adani Azhari and Daania Hazli in the deciding doubles 6-4 7-5 to secure the 2-1 victory.
No. 2 seed China and No. 3 seed Korea both failed to qualify for the Finals. China lost to Kazakhstan and qualified for the quarterfinals as a group runner-up and ended up facing No. 1 seed Australia and lost. Korea won the opening singles against Chinese Taipei but Yeri Hong was beaten in straight sets by world No. 117 Lin Yu-Chen at the one spot. The Taiwanese then won the deciding doubles 6-3 6-4 to advance at the expense of the Koreans and then beat Kazakhstan and Australia to finish in 1st place.
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About Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge
The ITF’s International Team Competition for players aged 16 & Under was launched in 1985 as the World Youth Cup. This event was re-branded in the mid-2000s as the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Now, it is named Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge.
Notable past participants of this competition included Yi Jing-Qian, Amelie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva, Daniela Hantuchova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina, Ashleigh Barty, Barbora Krejcikova, Daria Kasatkina, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Marta Kostyuk, and Coco Gauff, to name a few.
Australia is a five-time champion, but no team from Asia has managed to win it thus far. The best results were runners-up finishes by China in 2010, and Japan in 2017 and 2021.
2025 Final Positions (Brackets denote seedings):
1. Chinese Taipei(5)
2. Australia(1)
3. Japan(4)
4. Kazakhstan(6)
————————————— Top 4 qualified for Finals
5. Korea(3)
6. China(2)
7. India(7)
8. New Zealand(8)
9. Hong Kong, China
10. Malaysia
11. Thailand
12. Uzbekistan
13. Indonesia
14. Philippines
15. Kyrgyzstan
16. Iran