A Taiwanese tennis player has become the first to win the boys’ division of the prestigious Petits As (or “small champions”) tournament in Tarbes, France, on Sunday. The player – 13-year-old Tseng Chun-hsin -- was the first Asian to win the title in the tournament's 33-year history.
Tseng beat Timofey Skatov of Russia 6-4, 6-1. The French international news agency AFP reported that Tseng follows in the footsteps of past tournament champion Rafael Nadal of Spain.
Tseng is from New Taipei City. He started showing an interest in ball games as a toddler. He has been supported by his father, who is a vendor at a local night market and a part-time tennis coach.
Les Petits As is a premier junior tennis tournament for players aged from12 to14. The championship is seen as the European equivalent of the Junior Orange Bowl in the US state of Florida.
The annual event attracts about 7,000 players in the pre-qualifying rounds. That number is then narrowed down to 64 in the final tournament.
Many of the tournament's champions, such as Taiwanese-American Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal of Spain, and Martina Hingis of Switzerland, have gone on to become grand slam winners.