HONG KONG, December 4, 2026 (Media Release)
Hong Kong, China’s top Under-18 male tennis player Kai Thompson has bowed out in the first round of the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open’s (‘BOCHKTO’) Qualifying Tournament. The 17-year-old fought gallantly but came up short against the world no. 88, Emilio Nava 6-3, 6-2.
Playing in his first ever ATP Tour tournament, the local upcoming star did not let the occasion get the better of him and demonstrated his full armoury in front of a packed Court One at Victoria Park Tennis Centre Court.
Thompson has been steadily improving over the past 12 months and finished the year with a bronze medal in the 15th National Games Youth Team competition for Team Hong Kong, China, and a win at a clay tournament in Chinese Taipei.
On playing his first ATP Tour match, Thompson said:
“Incredible experience to be playing against a top 100 ATP player. It’s my first time so I was quite excited, but definitely nervous. I just tried to keep as cool as I could, just try to keep playing point by point and just be in the moment. It was a great experience overall, I heard everyone cheering for me, and it was amazing. It’s my first ATP at home, so I couldn’t ask for more.”
Thompson will next take to the hard courts at Victoria Park in the doubles main draw with Zhou Yi as the last match on Centre Court on Monday. Following this week, he will be representing Team Hong Kong, China in the Davis Cup when the territory takes on Finland in February.
Hong Kong, China no. 1 Coleman Wong Chak-lam plays Argentina’s Mariano Navone in the first round on Tuesday. Nuno Borges, the no. 8 seed from Portugal will open proceedings on Centre Court at 1:30pm on Monday as he takes on Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. The battle of the veterans between 2014 US Open Champion Marin Cilic and Adrian Mannarino of France will follow before the evening session gets underway when 15th National Games champion Wu Yibing takes on Hungary’s Fabian Maroszan.
Main draw matches begin on Monday afternoon with both the men’s singles and doubles finals slated for Sunday 11 January. The 28-player draw features four of the world’s top 20 men’s tennis stars – world no. 8 Lorenzo Musetti, world no. 11 Alexander Bublik, 2024 BOCHKTO 24 Champion Andrey Rublev, and world no. 17 Karen Khachanov. Asia’s challenge will be spearheaded by 15th National Games Men’s Singles winner and runner-up – Wu Yibing and Jerry Shang Juncheng – and local star Wong. The ATP season opener boasts a total prize purse exceeding USD780,000.
