Choy Wai-Chuen (5 March 1914 – 29 July 1951) was a Chinese tennis player. Born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, Choy received an education in England and was a graduate of

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school (independent day and boarding school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 yea ...

. He attended

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, gaining his blue for tennis. Choy, a player of slight build, was described as playing his tennis like a game of chess, using all angles to his tactical advantage. He made his debut for the

China Davis Cup team The China men's national tennis team represents the People's Republic of China in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Chinese Tennis Association. It was represented by the Republic of China from 1924-1946. The team did not partici ...

in 1937. At the

1938 Wimbledon Championships The 1938 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 20 June until Saturday 2 July 1938. It was the 58th ...

he troubled third seed

Roderich Menzel Roderich Ferdinand Ottomar Menzel (; 13 April 1907 – 17 October 1987) was a Czech-German amateur tennis player and, after his active career, a writer. Birth Roderich Menzel was born in Reichenberg in Bohemia (today Liberec in the Czech Republi ...

in a second round match, losing 6–8 in the fifth set. In 1939 he played an All-Chinese final at the

British Hard Court Championships The British Hard Court Championships is a defunct Grand Prix tennis and WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1968 to 1983 and 1995 to 1999. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 1924 in Torquay, moving to the West Hant ...

, which he lost to

Kho Sin-Kie Kho Sin-Khie (, ; September 2, 1912 – January 31, 1947) was an Indonesian-born tennis player who represented the Republic of China in the Davis Cup. He was from the Peranakan Chinese ethnic group. He was the first Chinese player ever to win a m ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Choy played in benefit matches to raise money for the China Relief Fund. He was in Hong Kong for this purpose when the Japanese invaded in 1941 and became a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp. In April, 1942, it was announced that he had managed to escape and was on his way to

Chungking Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

. Choy died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

in London in 1951, aged 37.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choy, Wai-Chuen 1914 births 1951 deaths Chinese male tennis players Deaths from leukemia People educated at Framlingham College Alumni of the University of Cambridge People interned during World War II