- Former Hong Kong tennis number one Venise Chan wins against men and women at international pickleball debut
- Chan wants to make the city a ‘grand slam’ destination with inaugural Hong Kong Pickleball Open
One of Hong Kong's most decorated tennis players is on a mission to conquer one of the world's fastest-growing sports " and will face any man or woman getting in the way.
Former Hong Kong women's tennis number one Venise Chan Wing-yau, who became the city's number one pickleball player after sweeping several medals at the Pickleball International Open in Thailand last week, hopes her unique transition ignites a new trend in the city.
"It was the first pickleball event that I've ever been to," said the 30-year-old Chan, who ranked second in Asia as a junior before collecting several local championship trophies through her professional tennis career.
"I started playing about three or four months ago. Actually, it was after I got married in September last year and one of my friends " a professional at pickleball and my assistant tennis coach at university " who came to the wedding and introduced me to the sport. It's like tennis but with different skills and tactics.
Pickleball has skyrocketed in the US to include more than three million players and over 20,000 courts, according to the USA Pickleball Association in 2019. The sport is regarded as a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played with either two or four players using stumpier wood-based paddles and a hollow polymer ball. Courts have badminton-like dimensions with tennis-like lines, while basic rules include underarm serves and competing for the point until one party commits a fault.
"I played a little bit in Hong Kong, then my friend asked me 'why don't you try the Thailand Open?' So this year I've been to Thailand and I will also be going to the Japan Open in May and the English Open in July. There are tournaments everywhere " especially in the US where there is some prize money " but the Asia circuit is just starting," Chan said, adding that she is still adjusting to the new rules and regulations.
Having played a measly dozen-or-so pickleball games prior, Chan has already emerged as a top Asian contender. She returned from Thailand with a gold in the women's singles, silver in the women's doubles, and " most unusually " won a match in the men's singles category.
"That was very interesting. The idea came after my friend told me to try the men's event, and at first I thought, 'this is not possible … would a tournament allow women to play (in the men's event)?'" said Chan, who joined Tong Ka-po in becoming one of the very few to win the women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles in the same year at Hong Kong's coveted CRC Open.
"But it was not set in the rules " maybe one day (it will be) " so I thought I would try. I told the tournament director and she thought it was good idea. It's good practice and was great to challenge the men, anyway. A lot were watching " it was funny," Chan said.
News of a professional tennis player dominating in a different sport inevitably made the rounds back home. Chan, who was Hong Kong's youngest player ever to lift a women's singles title aged 16 years and five months, said there are a number of tennis pros that have succeeded in the transition.
"It's quite funny to me that I got more attention for pickleball than I would in tennis " I thought it would be the other way around," she said. "After I put up all the videos (of me competing), I was surprised that so many people watched and contacted me. I guess it's the popularity and curiosity towards the game.
"Right now if you look at the pickleball scene, you can see that the top pros are former pro tennis players … it will actually be fascinating if I train (globally) and see how far I can go, but I'm not sure I want to do that because I can't make a living from it yet."
Chan continues to pepper pickleball competitions with the occasional local tennis event " but neither takes top priority. The University of Cambridge graduate is also a full-time worker in the finance industry.
"My finance work is my main thing " (pickleball) is just for fun, but I'm interested to play in the US at least once in the next year," said Chan, who stepped away from tennis in 2013 due to a lingering back injury.
"To be honest I still like tennis more than pickleball. I haven't actually played competitively or practised in a while … but a few months ago I (reached) the final of a local major tennis event. I guess I had a good draw."
As she contemplates devoting her life to another athletic chapter, Chan wants to emulate pickleball's mercurial rise in the US back home. She is channelling her inner tournament director for the inaugural Hong Kong Pickleball Open scheduled for December 10 to 13.
"The reason I think pickleball will grow is because in Hong Kong space is an issue. With pickleball, you can book a badminton court or draw up lines on the ground then people can enjoy the game. It's a fun sport and I wanted to do something positive in Hong Kong, especially considering what is going on now," Chan explained, adding that the vision is to one day be Asia's prime destination for "pickleball grand slams".
"The Hong Kong Pickleball Open is going to be held at the Ladies Recreational Club. They were pretty nice to lend us their venue for the first ever international pickleball tournament in Hong Kong. We're hoping to have more than 100 participants " the Thailand Open originally had about 100 people sign up from more than 16 countries."
Interested parties can learn more about the sport via the Pickleball Association of Hong Kong China and the Pickleball Elite Association of Hong Kong China, and the tournament via Pickleball Global.
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