French Open: Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong set for first grand slam appearance in Roland Garros qualifiers
- The 19-year-old is among 128 players preparing for the qualifying rounds in Paris, with 16 places in the main draw up for grabs
- Wong earned his spot after climbing the rankings to No 180 in the world, a career high
Hong Kong tennis star Coleman Wong Chak-lam is set to play in his first men’s grand slam tournament after securing a spot in the French Open qualifiers.
The teenager was in Paris preparing for his first qualifying match, with the hope of winning three matches and becoming one of the 16 who will reach the main draw. He will be among a pool of 128 players starting the qualifying rounds from Monday.
Wong earned his place after this month rising to a career-high world ranking of 180.
Since graduating from the junior ranks to the men’s circuit last September, Wong, who turns 20 in three weeks’ time, has been playing largely on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour, and reached finals in Shenzhen, Playford and New Delhi.
Despite losing on all three occasions, twice to James Duckworth of Australia and once to Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France, Wong’s runners-up results earned him significant ranking points.
Reaching the main draw of the ATP Masters in Miami, becoming the first player from Hong Kong to do so, also helped to propel Wong from world No 477 last October to No 192 at the start of last month.
