The Hong Kong, China team comprising Coleman Wong, Jack Cheng, Roger Ng, Kevin Wong, Wong Tsz Fu, Yu Hiu Tung (Captain), Leo Liu (Coach), and Alex Ng (Physio) is facing Namibia in a crucial Davis Cup World Group II play-off tie from February 1-2 at the Central Tennis Club in the country’s capital city, Windhoek.
The winning nation will progress to the World Group II first round in September, while the losing nation will be relegated to their respective regional Group III events later this year.
Meanwhile, Namibia has nominated Connor van Schalkwyk, Codie van Schalkwyk, Jean Erasmus, Ruben Yssel, and Gert Dippenaar (Captain). This marks a significant moment for Namibian tennis, as a Davis Cup tie is set to take place on its home soil for the first time.
Windhoek is situated at approximately 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level compared to The Peak on Hong Kong Island, which has an elevation of 552 m.
Captain Yu Hiu Tung: “We arrived on Monday and the players are still trying to acclimatise to the conditions, the balls, the court, etc. The temperature is around 30°C but humidity is low even though it is summer time over here. The altitude, however, is something we have to get adjusted to as quickly as possible.”
During the 2023-24 season, Codie van Schalkwyk was First Team All-Sun Belt Conference in doubles with Connor van Schalkwyk. Together, they reached the final of the 2023 ITA National Fall Championships. The van Schalkwyks, representing Old Dominion University, were installed as the 5th-8th seeds at the 2024 ITA Men’s All-American Championships but bowed out early.
In the 2024-25 season, they held a NCAA DI preseason ranking of No. 8 in men’s doubles but have since lost to LSU, Wake Forest, Liberty, North Carolina, and Virginia, which saw their ranking drop down to a current mark of No. 56.
In singles, Connor van Schalkwyk has an NCAA ranking No. 70 at the moment, but earned a place in the NCAA Singles Championship by beating 20th-ranked Dylan Dietrich (UVA) to win the ITA Atlantic Regional last October. For the 2023-24 season, he was the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. Connor van Schalkwyk faced Coleman Wong once before in 2022 at the JA Milan on clay where the Namibian won 6-0 7-6 in the first round. His best result in singles on the Futures circuit was a runner-up at the M15 Hillcrest in South Africa in June 2024. At No. 1124, he is the only player on the Namibian team holding an ATP ranking in singles.
Namibia, with Codie and Connor van Schalkwyk in the line-up, finished top of the 2024 Africa Group III event in Abuja, winning four out of five ties before losing only to Zimbabwe. The tie against Hong Kong, China this weekend will be Namibia’s first above the Group III level.
In terms of their Davis Cup win-loss records, Codie van Schalkwyk is 20-18 overall, with 11-11 wins in singles and 9-7 in doubles. Connor van Schalkwyk is 22-6 overall, with 14-2 wins in singles and 8-4 in doubles. Connor made his Davis Cup debut for Namibia in 2019 at age 14 Years and 290 Days.
For the Hong Kong, China team, Coleman Wong is the highest-ranked player at No. 165 in singles and No. 667 in doubles. Last year, he became the first player from Hong Kong to qualify for the maindraw of a Masters 1000 event when he beat two top 100 players in the qualies at the Miami Open. After coming within a point from reaching the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 Hangzhou Open, he peaked at a career-high ranking of No. 128. Since making his Davis Cup debut in 2019, Wong has played a total of ten ties for Hong Kong and has a win-loss record of 11-3 in singles and 4-4 in doubles.
Jack Cheng has a current singles ranking of No. 1658 and doubles of No. 2547, while the rest of the team members also hold a ranking in doubles at present. The most experienced player on the team is Kevin Wong, who has played eleven ties for Hong Kong and owns a win-loss record of 8-3 in doubles. The eight wins puts him second all-time behind only Mark Bailey, who accumulated twelve wins in doubles between 1982 and 1992.
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. Organized by the International Tennis Federation, it is contested annually between teams from over 150 countries and regions, making it the world’s largest annual team sporting competition.