Hong Kong's Coleman Wong Aims for Breakthrough after Hometown Showing

Coleman Wong was thoroughly pleased to start the year in his native Hong Kong at the Bank of China Hong Kong Open, an ATP 250 event that kicked off the 2025 season. Although he lost his first-round match against the rising Chinese star, Shang Juncheng (also known as Jerry Shang), Wong seemed content with his preparations for the upcoming Australian Open and the rest of the year, and has aspirations to reach the top 100.

Coleman Wong in action against Shang Juncheng at the Bank of China Hong Kong Open

Speaking before the start of the tournament, 20-year-old Wong felt the work he had done in the off season had put him in good stead: "I'm really excited to start off the year in Hong Kong. I put in a lot of work in pre-season. I'm feeling better. I feel I've improved. There's a lot of players in the academy that I've trained with; many good guys, many good sessions, so I'm really excited".

The academy that Wong mentions is the famous Rafa Nadal Academy, where he began training at the age of 17. The Hongkonger seems more than happy with his coaching team, which includes James Allemby from the academy, a coach he's been working with full-time for over a year now, having previously worked with him on a part-time basis. Wong said: "I think my team is really good at the moment. They're pushing me really hard and we're working really well together. I'm really excited for 2025 'cause I've got a lot of coaches from the academy. I've got Toni [Nadal], a lot of every experienced coaches in the academy, also James with me this week, travelling with me. I'm really proud of my team". Toni Nadal is of course the uncle and previous coach of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and there's no doubt that having access to such expertise is of great benefit to a young player like Wong.

Coleman Wong talks to the media ahead of the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.

In the tournament, however, Wong had to face Jerry Shang, who is now ranked inside the top 50, while Wong had slipped to a ranking of 170, having peaked at no. 128 during the 2024 season. They last faced each other at the Shanghai Masters event in October, with the 19-year-old Shang coming out on top in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. However, the match in Hong Kong went better for Wong, whose strong serving performance helped him take the first set to a tiebreak. In the end, it was the teenager from mainland China who won the match with a score of 7-6(3), 6-4.

Despite the loss, Wong expressed overall satisfaction with his performance: "Compared to the last time, when I wasn’t playing my best, I think this time it was pretty good. It was just a little bit disappointing, just a few points that went his way. But this is tennis. I’ll keep going and every week is a new tournament so I’ll keep going". Reflecting on his performance in Hong Kong as compared to last year when he lost to Lorenzo Musetti, Wong felt he made big improvements: "I think I improved quite a bit. I feel like I’m an all-round player now. I played better this year. Last year was tougher 'cause it was my first year. I needed to get used to the crowd, the atmosphere and everything. This year was better for me, obviously I wanted to win but I tried my best so... no regrets".

For Wong, what was perhaps even more important was the chance to play in his hometown. When I asked how it felt to play with a loud Hong Kong crowd on his side, he seemed to be genuinely moved by the support he received: "Good, amazing, 'cause there’s not a lot of chances I can play in front of my home crowd. It was very special for me. Hearing them chanting my name and everything, it means a lot to me. Since I was young... I wanted to be a professional tennis player, and playing against top players like Jerry, like Musetti last year. Yeah, it’s been a dream for me. I want to keep going, I want to be better, I want to be beating people like this."

Coleman Wong and Shang Juncheng line up alongside former world no. 2 and French Open champion, Michael Chang, ahead of their first-round match at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.

But what does he have to do to beat such players and achieve his stated goal of breaking into the ATP top 100? Moreover, does he have what it takes? Jerry Shang certainly seems to think that Wong has that level in him. Speaking after their match, Shang said: "I think Coleman’s for sure top 100 level, maybe even more right now. Sometimes - I’ve experienced it before - I can play great tennis sometimes but sometimes you can get unlucky with the draw and stuff, but I think he really served well this time... he was building the points well but I would say I got a little bit lucky in the tiebreak."

Wong seems well aware that there is not much difference between the level he's been playing at – mostly on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour – and that of the players in the top 100 and on the top-tier ATP Tour. For him it comes down to certain important points here and there which the top players handle better: "To be honest, I'm not so far away! I think it's very similar. It's just sometimes in tight moments, they are more calm, they are more used to it. They've played a lot of ATP Tour tournaments so they are more used to the tight moments, what to do, they are more calm, so I need to learn from them."

Asked what he needs to do qualify for the slams and reach the top 100, Wong believes the best way is for him to have more experience training with and playing against the best players: "I think I need to play more with players from the top 100, or really top players. Playing with them, training, and drills with them helps me a lot to know what to do get into the top 100; to get to my goals is more clear if I train with them, ask them questions... talking, chatting with them. It’s a really good experience for me this week, like training with really good guys here – Nishikori and all those top players – yeah I’m really looking forward to Australian Open."

Wong will now head off with his team to Melbourne for the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, the first major of the year. He is aiming to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, having failed to navigate his way through qualification for Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2024. It will be Wong's first appearance in Melbourne as a professional, and qualifying for the event would not only be a first for him, but also the first for any man from Hong Kong. He has already made history for Hong Kong, becoming the first Hongkonger to reach the ATP top 150 and the first to qualify for an ATP Masters 1000 event. For Wong, qualifying in Melbourne would certainly be the perfect way to get the ball rolling toward the top 100. The Australian Open qualifying tournament will take place from Monday 6 January to Thursday 9 January.