Five things to look for at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open

                                             Credit: South China Morning Post

This weekend the Bank of China Hong Kong Open (中銀香港網球公開賽) will get under way. The tournament will run from January 4th to January 11th. To check out the tournament's official website to see the draws and more information, click here. What I want to do in this blog post is provide my list of five things to look for in the tournament and also share information about Save Cantonese, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Cantonese language and culture. Ok, let's get after it! 

#1. Will Lorenzo Musetti go the distance as the top seed? Lorenzo Musetti comes in as the top seed in the tournament, ranked No. 8 in the world. He won his two career ATP titles in 2022, so it's been a while since he's lifted a trophy. I'm sure he's hoping to use the Hong Kong Open as a chance to get a third career title and build some good momentum ahead of the Australian Open. It'll be interesting to see if he can handle the pressure of being the top seed. 

#2. Can Marin Cilic make a run? Marin Cilic is the only guy in the draw who has won a grand slam singles title (2014 US Open). That was a while ago and after not playing in a grand slam in 2023 and only one grand slam in 2024 (1st round Australian Open), Cilic made a comeback of sorts by playing in all four grand slams in 2025, reaching the 4th round at Wimbledon. Cilic is currently ranked No. 73 in the world and eager to make some noise at the Australian Open. It would be cool if he made a deep run in Hong Kong. That would certainly grab a lot of headlines. 

#3. Will Alexander Bublik win a 9th career title? World No. 11 Alexander Bublik is the number two seed in the tournament and is gunning for his 9th career title. Bublik is a guy who could really benefit from winning this tournament given his struggles at the Australian Open (he's never gotten past the 2nd round). If he is able to go all the way, I'll be curious to see if he can follow that up with a breakthrough run in Melbourne. 

#4. Will Andrey Rublev's experience make the difference? World No. 16 Andrey Rublev comes in having won 17 career titles as the number three seed in the tournament. Given he's won more titles than Musetti and Bublik combined, Rublev is definitely the favorite to win this tournament. He is much more comfortable winning when he's in the final of a tournament. It'll be fun to see if he can pick up an 18th career title in Hong Kong. 

#5. Can Hong Kong's Coleman Wong make some noise? The lone Hong Kong native in the tournament is Coleman Wong. At just 21 years of age, he is coming off a season in which he reached the 3rd round at the US Open. Wong became the first Hong Kong man to reach the 3rd round at a grand slam in the Open Era and the first Hong Kong player to do it since Paulette Moreno at the 1988 Australian Open. Wong is ranked No. 150 in the world, but he's number one in the hearts of all the Hong Kong tennis fans. It would be awesome if he made some noise and threatened to go the distance. 

Save Cantonese: Cantonese is the lingua franca of Hong Kong and is incredibly important to the identity of the city as well as the Guangdong Province of China. Cantonese gets its name from being the lingua franca of Guangdong, previously anglicized as Canton. Cantonese culture is famous for giving us cuisine like Dim Sum, music like Cantonese Opera and Cantopop, and a hard working spirit and energy that has become the backbone of Chinatowns around the world. 

With Mandarin becoming the dominant spoken form of the Chinese language, Cantonese and other varieties of spoken Chinese are in danger of fading away. Each of these varieties of Chinese have their own unique cultures that deserve to be preserved and carried on into future generations. Save Cantonese is an organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting both the Cantonese language and culture. Their website is SaveCantonese.org. 

 Their mission statement is below: 

Save Cantonese is an international movement that sustains and celebrates Cantonese language and culture. Through grassroots advocacy, we protect and promote local language programs, while strengthening connections across the global Cantonese diaspora. We ensure that present and future generations benefit from a vibrant, thriving Cantonese-speaking and learning community.
 
Save Cantonese 係一項國際性嘅運動，旨在傳承同頌揚粵語同廣東文化。我哋透過基層宣傳，保護同宣傳本地語言活動，同時加強同散居全球嘅粵語僑民聯繫。我哋確保從今以後每一代都能受惠於充滿活力、蓬勃發展嘅粵語同學習社區。 

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10 things to take away from the 2025 French Open

                                   
                                       (Credit: rolandgarros.com) 

Before I shift my focus to Wimbledon and grass court tennis, I would like to take a look back on the two amazing weeks that were at the 2025 French Open on the grounds of Roland Garros. Okay, let's dive in! 

#1. Carlos Alcaraz is the top clay player in the world: Carlos Alcaraz won his fifth grand slam and second straight French Open, defeating Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller in the final: 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. Alcaraz had to dig deep to come out on top, but he proved that he is the top clay player in the world on the men's side by defending his title. In order to prove you're the best on a surface, I kinda think you need to at least win back-to-back titles and Alcaraz has now done that at the French Open. 

#2. Coco Gauff finally cracks the code on clay: Coco Gauff has been knocking on the door to win her first French Open and she finally did it, defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the final. She reached the final in 2022 and lost in the semifinals in 2023, so she's been close. At just 21 years of age, she has plenty of tennis in front of her, which means this is likely the first of many French Open titles. What really made the difference against Sabalenka was her patience and ability to extend rallies. She's the better clay court player and in the end, that made the difference despite Sabalenka being the better all-around player. 

#3. Jannik Sinner still searching for his first slam away from hard court: Jannik Sinner had a heartbreaking French Open. He was up 2-0 on Carlos Alcaraz only to drop the next three sets. He also had three championship points, but failed to close it out. Sinner is still in search of his first grand slam title away from the hard courts after blowing this opportunity. He can't let this loss sting for too long with Wimbledon right around the corner. 

#4. Aryna Sabalenka has more work to do on the clay: As I mentioned above, Aryna Sabalenka failed to win the French Open in large part because Coco Gauff proved to be the better clay court player. Just like Sinner, Sabalenka is still in search of her first grand slam away from the hard courts. In order to truly be an all-time great, you have to win on the other surfaces. It'll be interesting to see how she does on the grass courts of Wimbledon. 

#5. Lorenzo Musetti is knocking on the door: At just 23 years of age, Lorenzo Musetti reached his first French Open semifinal, losing to Carlos Alcaraz. Musetti also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last year, so he's knocking on that door to reach a grand slam final. The question is can he take it up a notch and get over the top? Wimbledon will be interesting for sure. 

#6. Iga Świątek is mortal on the clay: Iga Świątek came into Roland Garros having won four straight French Open titles. She was my pick to win it all and yet she ended up coming up short in the semifinals against Sabalenka, losing 6-7, 6-4, 0-6. If you are Swiatek, you are obviously hoping to come back stronger next year and go the distance. I'm sure she has more French Open titles in her future, but this year, she showed the rest of the WTA tour that she can be beaten. 

#7. Rafael Nadal is forever etched in history: Rafael Nadal was honored with a commemorative plaque with his footprint and number of French Open titles (14) on it that is on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was a great way to begin the two weeks in Paris. Nadal has meant so much to the sport and especially Roland Garros. It is only fitting that he will permanently have his mark left on the clay. 

#8. Jasmine Paolini ran out of gas: Jasmine Paolini came into Roland Garros with high hopes having won the Italian Open. Unfortunately for her, she went out in the 4th round, unable to make it back to the final where she was last year. I still like Paolini's odds of winning Roland Garros in the next couple of years, but she showed that it's no easy task to win in Rome and then in Paris. 

#9. Novak Djokovic is still determined to win more slams: While he came up short against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, Novak Djokovic showed that he is still very much motivated to win grand slam titles, currently eying No. 25. Personally, I think Djokovic has the ability to win a couple more slams before it's all said and done. He has the will and the motivation. You can never count him out. 

#10. Lois Boisson took advantage of being at home: 22 year old Lois Boisson had an impressive run to the semifinals, falling to Coco Gauff 1-6, 2-6. She played well all the way until her final match against Gauff, taking advantage of having the home country crowd behind her. What made this all the more impressive was this was her grand slam debut. It'll be fun to see how the rest of her 2025 season goes and whether or not she can climb even further up the rankings. She started the tournament ranked No. 361 in the world and finished ranked No. 65. That's quite a jump! 

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