He started playing tennis almost by accident. As a five-year-old Coleman Wong subbed in for his older sister at a tennis clinic in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park. The rest, as they say, is history. 16 years later the cheerful 21-year-old has emerged as a force to be reckoned with, and one of the biggest surprises of week one of the 2025 US Open.
On Thursday the 173-ranked qualifier became the first player from Hong Kong to ever reach the third round at a major, defeating Australia’s Adam Walton, 7-6(5), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
“This is something that I dreamed of, to keep going in a Slam,” Wong told reporters. “It's one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
At the moment I am still digesting it, so I still need to calm down.”
That might not be happening any time soon.
It has been a tournament of firsts for the ebullient Wong, who became the first player from Hong Kong to play the main draw at a Grand Slam since 1988 by qualifying. When he made it through his first-round match, becoming the first player from Hong Kong to win a match at a major in the Open Era, his phone blew up with messages that included words of support from Rafael Nadal and his Uncle Toni, who have welcomed him at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca for four years.
To go all the way to Spain at the age of 16 was quite a shock, and Wong admits that it was not easy in the beginning.
“I had never been to Spain and I had barely been to Europe before. So for a little kid from Hong Kong to go all the way to Spain, it was tough,” said Wong, who leaned into his friendship with fellow history maker Alexandra Eala to get through the lonely moments.
“For me and Alex, we're doing things that nobody had done before,” Wong said of 20-year-old Eala, who became the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match earlier this week. “We are really happy for each other.”
Wong says Eala helped him learn the ropes at Nadal’s academy. Eventually he found his footing and his game began to blossom.
“I moved over there and Alex helped me a lot to get used to the environment because she was there for a long time,” he said. “It took me a year to adjust.”
Though he had never played a best-of-five match prior to his first-round clash with Aleksandar Kovacevic, Wong is proving to be a fast learner in the format, and at the majors.
“It's very new for me and it's not easy,” he said. “And I think I'm still adapting. I'm feeling that this is my first main draw, first best-of-five, first everything–for me, for Hong Kong and for my team. So everything is very new.”
There is a dreamlike feel to Wong’s US Open success. The emotional outpourings after his wins; the fervent support of his Hong Kong fan base. He can’t quite believe that his biggest dreams are playing out on the biggest tennis stage in the world. As he prepares for his third-round clash with Andrey Rublev, Wong is making sure he takes time to enjoy the perks of his success.
“I just want to enjoy the time here and stay as long as I can, because this is tough, everyone is so good,” he said. “I'm going to play Rublev, if you told me that before the tournament, I wouldn't [believe it].
“He kills the ball, he literally just destroys it. I just want to go out and enjoy the atmosphere, to feel the vibe and [see what] the US Open can give me.”
Whether he makes more history not on Saturday, Wong is relishing the ride, and he won’t deny himself the fruits of his labor. For example: taking tournament transportation into the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with a car and driver, hired by the tournament.
“It's kind of funny,” he said. “I always tell my coach, I really want to make it to the main draw so I can take the car. I don't want to take the bus. That's the thing that I always want to do.”
