At the 2025 WJT Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifyng in Bahrain, the Hong Kong, China under-14 boys’ team lived up to its billing and delivered a no-nonsense, workmanlike effort from start to finish. Anchored by Richie Choi and Kayden Lok in singles, the team defeated Mongolia, Jordan, Iraq, Bangladesh, and Indonesia to place first overall.
Next up, the boys will head to Kuching, Malaysia, from 9-14 April for the Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying where the top 4 finishing teams will earn a spot in this year’s World Finals, set to take place at the Tenisovy Klub Prostejov, Czechia, in August.
Team Hong Kong, China was represented by Justin Chan, Richie Choi, Kayden Lok, Jose Blasi (Captain), Ray Lam (Vice Captain), and Freeman Kwok (Team Official).
The boys started their campaign in Group B where they beat Mongolia and Jordan to advance to the knockout stage. Riding the one-two punch of Richie Choi and Kayden Lok, they then saw off Iraq 3-0 in the quarterfinals and 2-0 against Bangladesh in the semis. Against Indonesia in the final, with both teams already guaranteed passage to the Final Qualifying in Kuching, Justin Chan was given a start at No. 2 singles where he beat Komang Purustama 6-4 5-7 6-4 to give TeamHK a 1-0 lead.
At No. 1 singles, Richie Choi faced off with Ethan Frans, the 2024 Junior Orange Bowl B12 doubles champion. Choi, however, is already well-versed with WJT play having started at No. 2 singles for Hong Kong, China back in 2023 that eventually saw the team qualify for the World Finals. That same year, he was also a B12 singles runner-up at the Junior Orange Bowl. On Saturday, the HK rep prevailed in straight sets 6-2 6-0 with minimal fanfare to wrap up the overall 2-0 victory.
The ITF World Junior Tennis Competition
The WJT was launched in 1991 as the ITF’s flagship international team competition for players aged 14 and under. Teams from across five regions – Asia/Oceania, Europe, Africa, South America and North/Central America and the Caribbean – vie each year for a place in the World Finals where 16 boys teams and 16 girls teams compete for the title.
The Finals were held in Japan from 1991 until 1998 and for the first six years was sponsored by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). The event moved to the clay courts in Prostejov, Czech Republic, in 1999 and has remained there since.
Notable past participants included David Nalbandian, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Kei Nishikori, to name a few.
Korea was the first team from Asia to capture the WJT title when they beat Japan in the 2011 final. In 2015, the Koreans won it again by defeating Spain 2-1.
A boys’ team from Hong Kong, China has made it to the World Finals three times since the competition was inaugurated in 1991:
1994 Jason Sankey, Wayne Wong, and Desmond Chen
2001 Martin Sayer, Ronald Chow, and Brian Wong
2023 Walter Tam, Richie Choi, and Selwyn Wong
The ITF Sunshine Cup and ITF Connolly Continental Cup
The annual team competitions for under-18 juniors called the ITF Sunshine Cup (boys) and ITF Connolly Continental Cup (girls) were held in Miami until 2001.
The Sunshine Cup, originally known as the Orange Bowl Junior Cup, was established in 1958. The U.S. have won a record 16 titles, followed by Spain with eight. John McEnroe, Yannick Noah, Boris Becker, Mats Wilander, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Marcelo Rios, Roger Federer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andy Roddick, Rendy Lu, and Jimmy Wang are among those who have taken part.
The Maureen Connolly Brinker Continental Players Cup, as it was known then, began in 1976. The U.S. has won 11 titles to date, followed by Russia with five. In 1995, a 14-year-old Anna Kournikova led her country to a maiden title, while other notables, such as Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, and Lindsay Davenport, have also played.
Results
WJT Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifyng (Boys)
Isa Town, Bahrain
24 February-1 March 2025
Final
Hong Kong d. Indonesia 2-0
R1 Justin Chan (HKG) d. Komang Purustama (INA) 6-4 5-7 6-4
R2 Richie Choi (HKG) d. Ethan Frans (INA) 6-2 6-0
R3 Not Played
Final Positions (Brackets denote seedings):
- Hong Kong, China(2)
- Indonesia(1)
——————————– Top 2 advance to Final Qualifying
- Bangladesh
- Syria
- Philippines
- Kyrgyzstan
- Iraq
- Turkmenistan
- Malaysia
- Saudi Arabia
- Macau
- Oman
- Jordan
- Yemen
- Maldives
- United Arab Emirates
- Lebanon
- Bahrain
- Guam
- Nepal
- Mongolia