Hong Kong's top player Huang Zelin wins ATP Challe...
On May 3, 2026, in the just concluded 2026 "Jiujiang State Control Cup" Jiangxi (Jiujiang) Open ATP 75 men's singles final, Coleman Wong, the "top player" of Hong Kong tennis, made history by defeating Australian player Adam Walton with outstanding performance and winning his first ATP Challenge men's singles championship in his career! This is not only a significant breakthrough in Huang Zelin's personal career, but also rewrites the history of men's tennis in Hong Kong, China.
As the 4th seed of this competition, Huang Zelin is in a hot state. Since the start of the game, he has been making great progress and has successively eliminated Kazakhstan's famous player Kukushkin, Japanese player Liyang Noguchi, and top Chinese player Buyunchakert. In the semi-finals, he scored 12 ACE goals and swept Chinese player Sun Fajing in straight sets 6-3 and 6-4, advancing to the finals with a perfect record of "not losing a set".
In the final, facing the strong third seed and Australian player Adam Walton, Huang Zelin continued his previous hot touch. In today's midday peak showdown, he withstood pressure and defeated the third seeded Australian player Adam Walton in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (4), winning his first ATP Challenge singles championship of his career. The whole game lasted for 1 hour and 51 minutes, and Huang Zelin showed extremely strong offensive firepower, scoring 10 ACE goals and particularly impressive key points. Faced with Walton's powerful serve, he maintained a steady pace with a 60% success rate for first serve and a 46% scoring rate for second serve. He also performed well in the receiving section, scoring 28% for first serve and 57% for second serve, repeatedly resolving opponents' serve threats. In the deciding set, Huang Zelin withstood the pressure and won the tiebreaker 7-4, completely ending the "curse" of being the runner up in all five challenge finals before. In the end, he defeated his opponent and won the coveted championship trophy, breaking his personal championship drought and significantly improving his world ranking, laying a solid foundation for his subsequent impact on higher-level competitions.
This young player born in 2004 has grown rapidly in recent years: as early as his teenage years, he won the men's doubles championship in the youth group at the 2021 US Open and the 2022 Australian Open; In 2025, he defeated the world's top fifteen players at the Miami Masters; In the same year's US Open, he broke through from the qualifying round and made it to the round of 32, becoming the first Hong Kong player of the Open era to win a Grand Slam men's singles main match and advance to the third round. This championship is another important milestone in Huang Zelin's career. In the blessed land of Jiujiang, Jiangxi, this 21-year-old rising star in the tennis world has finally undergone a transformation. He expressed after the game that he enjoyed the match in Jiujiang very much and thanked the organizers and on-site fans for their support. The ATP 75 men's tournament will be held from April 25th to May 3rd at the Jiujiang International Tennis Center. This tournament is hosted by the Sports Bureau of Jiangxi Province and the People's Government of Jiujiang City, organized by the Tennis Sports Management Center of Jiangxi Province and the Sports Bureau of Jiujiang City, co organized by Jiangxi Sports Development Co., Ltd. and Jiujiang State Control Group, and operated by Jiangxi Sports Development Co., Ltd. As an important part of the event's first-ever co hosting of men's and women's doubles, ATP 75 has attracted top male players from multiple countries and regions around the world to participate. The top seed and Australian star James Duckworth (ranked 86th in ATP) leads the competition; Chinese men's net backbone Buyun Chaokete (ranked 159th in ATP) and Sun Fajing made their debut together; Chinese Hong Kong's top player Huang Zelin, Australian top player Adam Walton, Tristan Skalket and other strong players competed together. For the first time, the 2026 Jiangxi (Jiujiang) Tennis Open has achieved dual ATP and WTA tournaments, and Huang Zelin's victory adds a significant touch to this extraordinary event. This is not only his first ATP Challenge championship in his personal career, but also showcases the depth and vitality of tennis in Jiujiang, Jiangxi to the world. The 2026 Jiangxi (Jiujiang) Tennis Open has achieved strategic expansion for the first time this year, hosted simultaneously by the ATP Men's Professional Tennis Challenge and the WTA Women's Professional Tennis Tour. It is one of the few comprehensive tennis events in China featuring both men and women. With the successful conclusion of the ATP 75 tournament today, the WTA 125 tournament will officially take over on May 4th and continue until May 10th. Female professional players from multiple countries and regions around the world are ready to take off, including China's Golden Flower Zhu Lin and Bai Zhuoxuan, Thailand's rising star Lanlana Dalarudi, and Japan's famous player Hibino Caixu, all of whom will appear in exciting matches that are about to explode!
