Born 7 April 1966 in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Due to his father’s work as a Civil Engineer, their family moved around when he was young, so much so that he had already lived in Nigeria, England, and Iran before he finally landed in Hong Kong at age 11. He was immediately invited to join a talented National Junior Squad under the tutelage of the late Tau Luu and John Holsinger that turned out to include several future Hall of Famers. The next two years saw him capture the under-12 and under-14 titles, which kickstarted his journey to compete eventually in some of the biggest events in the sport, such as Wimbledon and the US Open, and reaching the world’s junior top 10.
At age 18, he swept the men’s singles titles at all three local majors to complete the first-ever Triple Crown since the Hong Kong Closed Hardcourt Championships (now Hong Kong National Tennis Championships) first began at Victoria Park in 1978. He successfully defended his Hong Kong National Tennis Championships title the following two years to register the first three-peat of this event. In all, he captured two CRC Opens, four SCAA Opens, and the Hong Kong National Tennis Championships four times. His record haul of ten majors stood as the benchmark for almost thirty years until it was bettered in 2022.
A Davis Cup stalwart for Hong Kong, he competed ten years in a row from 1985-1994, which ranks him third all-time behind Mark Bailey and Yu Hiu Tung, who played 11 years respectively. In terms of number of ties played, his total of 17 also ranks him third all-time behind only Yu’s 24 and Bailey’s 21. Moreover, he amassed 17 wins in singles, a record he still shares with Bailey.
Hong Kong’s best showing in the Davis Cup occurred between 1988 and 1992 when the team reached the Asia/Oceania Group II Final four times, winning it in 1988 and 1992 to gain promotion twice to Group I. He was instrumental during that run, delivering nine key wins in live singles rubbers.
At the Seiko Super Tennis Hong Kong in 1987, which was part of the Nabisco Grand Prix, he beat Dutch world No. 147 Huub Van Boeckel to reach the third and final round of men’s qualifying. No player from Hong Kong has beaten a top 150 opponent nor reached that stage of an ATP Tour event before or since. He reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 992 in singles (20 Aug 1990) and No. 955 in doubles (20 Aug 1990).
Remarkably, he accomplished all this not as a full-time athlete, but as an entrepreneur and a business owner by day. His dedication, contribution, and representation of Hong Kong in the Davis Cup, as well as his achievements in local competition, have made him a much respected figure in the tennis community. He continues to inspire and motivate young players to pursue their dreams on and off the court.
Local Majors
Men’s Singles
CRC Open
1984 1993
SCAA Open
1984 1988 1992 1993
Hong Kong National Tennis Championships
1984 1985 1986 1990
Men’s Doubles
CRC Open
1984 1986 1993
SCAA Open
1986 1988 1992 1993
Hong Kong National Tennis Championships
1984 1993