ITF beach tennis event in Hong Kong piques interest in sport among residents
As international stars praise the city’s conditions, Hongkongers express interest but face hurdles joining the growing sport
With the curtain coming down on BT100 Hong Kong, the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour event that was held in Discovery Bay and finished on Sunday, Hongkongers have expressed interest in the sport but admitted there were hurdles around playing on the city’s beaches.
The event first came to Hong Kong in April this year as the city’s first international beach tennis tournament sanctioned by the sport’s global governing body.
The return of the three-day event – this time as a higher-level tournament – helped to pique interest in the sport among residents.
Joanna Lee, a 42-year-old lawyer living in Discovery Bay, finished fourth in the women’s over-40 event, one of the best results for Hong Kong. The over-40 events were for amateurs, with winners claiming prize money instead of professional ranking points.
Lee said she was drawn to beach tennis when she first watched it in Hong Kong and has now played the sport for two years.
She admitted that living in Discovery Bay provided her with more opportunity to play the sport and a lot of people in Hong Kong did not have the facilities available to them.