On the boys’ side, Nicholas Cheng was the big winner, as he captured both the under-16 and under-18 titles, while Kaden Sy and Marty Deng fought all the way from qualifying to the top of the under-10 and under-12 podiums respectively.  Likewise, on the girls’ side, Rosalyn Chan captured both the under-16 and under-18 titles, with Winky Leung taking home both singles and doubles in the under-12s.

One of the most evenly-contested finals this year was the under-12 boys’ singles between No. 1 seed Wong Him and qualifier Marty Deng.  In the opening set, a confident Wong broke serve straightaway but Deng’s immediate response was a whopping six game in a row, which included a monumental fifth game during which Deng managed to save four consecutive break points from 0-40 down to hold to make it 4-1.  In the ensuing game, Wong saved a break point trailing 30-40 to force deuce but a couple points later, he conceded it 5-1.  Deng was in a hurry and held to love to grab the first set 6-1.

In the second, servers dominated the early going. After Wong produced a love hold to go up 3-2, he broke Deng to 15 to jump out to a 4-2 lead.  Wong then dug deep to fend off four break points to consolidate for a 5-2 advantage.  After Deng threw down a love hold for 5-3, the top seed thumped an ace to open his next game but was eventually broken, as Deng managed to peg the score back to 5-4.  To Wong’s credit, he knuckled down to break Deng back at 30 in the following game to take it 6-4 to force a deciding set.

The third was a roller-coaster, with Deng breaking in the first, fifth, and seventh games respectively, but Wong fought back each time and did not allow his opponent to consolidate. The score seesawed to 4-4 when Deng conjured his fourth service break of the set.  This time, however, there was no more Houdini Act for the top seed, as the qualifier held sway to complete a 6-1 4-6 6-4 victory over the No. 1 seed.

In a match-up between the top 2 seeds in the under-16 boys’ singles final, Nicholas Cheng beat Walter Tam with an early break in each set, while saving all five break points he faced to register a business-like 6-4 6-4 victory in an hour and fifty minutes.  Cheng’s previous best result at the Hong Kong National Junior Tennis Championships was the runner-up finish last year in the under-16s.  This time round, he doubled his tally by beating No. 2 seed Lionel Ng 6-2 6-4 to take home the under-18 title as well.

Hebe Leung, the 2023 under-14 girls’ singles champion, reached both under-16 and under-18 finals this year but finished runner-up to Rosalyn Chan on both occasions. Rosalyn Chan successfully defended her under-18 girls’ title by defeating Hebe Leung in the final 6-3 6-1.  This is the third year in a row Rosalyn Chan has reached the under-16 girls’ singles final.  She first won it in 2022 but finished runner-up to Vienna Lai in 2023.

Qualifier Kaden Sy defeated Ho Chun Pak 4-1 4-0 to capture the under-10 boys’ singles title, while the girls’ equivalent went to second-seeded Leung Tsz Yau, who saw off the challenge of Esmeralda Zhou 4-2 4-1 in the final.  

Since the under-10 singles for both boys and girls were first contested in 2001, Ophelia Tang (2021) and Rosalyn Chan (2023) are the only players thus far to complete a career set of all five age group singles titles ranging from under-10 and under-12 to the under-14s, 16s, and 18s.

Last but not least, a big thank you to Mr. Kiyotaka Ando, Executive Director, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Nissin Foods Company Limited for presiding over Sunday’s prize presentation ceremony together with HKCTA President, Mr. Michael Cheng and Tournament Committee Chairman, Mr. Clement Lee.  Participation this year was extremely encouraging, with entries totalling over 1000.  Well played and congrats to all. See you again next year!

The Hong Kong National Junior Tennis Championships is the biggest annual tournament held locally for players aged 18 & Under. It provides competitive opportunities for juniors to hone their skills and gain match-play experience before they progress to more elite competition found on the ITF World Tennis Junior Tour. Coleman Wong, for instance, captured back-to-back under-12 boys’ singles titles in 2015 and 2016 prior to his Junior Orange Bowl B14 triumph in 2018 and him reaching No. 11 in the junior world rankings in 2022. Since the introduction of a computerised ranking system by the ATP in 1973, Coleman Wong, currently at No. 215, is Hong Kong’s highest-ranked men’s tennis player of all time.

Results
Nissin Hong Kong National Junior Tennis Championships
Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
January 14-March 3, 2024

BS18
(1)Nicholas Cheng d. (2)Lionel Ng 6-2 6-4

BD18
(2)Howard Chan/Lionel Ng d. (1)Jacker Cheung/Ng Ka Long 6-4 7-6(3)

BS16
(1)Nicholas Cheng d. (2)Walter Tam 6-4 6-4

BD16
(1)Makson Chan/Julian Tai d. (3)Chan King Yiu/Philip Leung 6-2 6-1

BS14
(2)Kayden Lok d. (1)Jerome So 6-4 6-0

BD14
Jayden Bi/Jaden Chui d. Cheung Sing Long/Wong Yue Hin 6-1 6-1

BS12
(q)Marty Deng d. (1)Wong Him 6-1 4-6 6-4

BD12
(1)Leung Shun Wing/Wong Him d. (4)Jamie Chen/Brendan Kwan 6-2 4-6 [10-4]

BS10
(q)Kaden Sy d. Ho Chun Pak 4-1 4-0

GS18
(1)Rosalyn Chan d. (2)Hebe Leung 6-3 6-1

GS16
(1)Rosalyn Chan d. (2)Hebe Leung 6-3 6-1

GD16
(2)Rosalyn Chan/Leung Nga Lam d. (1)Hebe Leung/Cameron Yeung 6-1 4-6 [10-7]

GS14
(1)Nina Wang d. Ofelia Leitner 6-2 6-0

GD14
(1)Helena Liu/Siena Yeh d. (2)Ma Ka Hei/Lara Rauti 7-6 4-6 [10-8]

GS12
(2)Winky Leung d. (4)Lau Chin Laam 6-3 6-1

GD12
Lau Chin Laam/Winky Leung d. Chen Xinuo/Hui Hoi Hei 6-0 1-0 Retired

GS10
(2)Leung Tsz Yau d. Esmeralda Zhou 4-2 4-1