Lam becomes youngest player at Wimbledon

The CNMI’s La Hunn Lam, left, poses with eventual Inaugural 14U Championships at Wimbledon winner Matei Todoran of Romania at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The CNMI’s La Hunn Lam made history last week when the 12-year-old became the youngest player ever to compete at Wimbledon.

Lam and another Oceania netter, Aishi Das of New Zealand, were selected by the Oceania Tennis Federation to represent the region in the Inaugural 14U Championships at Wimbledon that took place from July 7 to 10, 2022.

While Lam didn’t win any of his matches against older and more experienced junior tennis players, he did create some waves at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club after an impressive match against No. 2 seed Matei Todoran of Romania.

According to CNMI sports hall of famer and national coach Jeff Race his ward showed some promise against Todoran.

“It was his best match so far. He played the No. 2 seed and lost 6-1, 6-2 but played with confidence and a lot of poise for his age. La Hunn really made him work for and sweat for his victory though. He actually led 2-0 in the second set,” said Race.

Todoran actually didn’t lose a set throughout the Inaugural 14U Championships at Wimbledon and culminated his perfect run by beating No. 6 seed Maximilian Heidlmair of Austria in the finals, 6-3, 6-1.

Before the breakthrough match against the eventual Inaugural 14U Championships champion, Lam lost his first two matches. Lam went down, 6-1, 6-0, in his first round match against Benjamin Chelia of Argentina. He also lost 6-0, 6-0, against Keaton Hance of the U.S. in his second round match.

“He was not at all happy with the way he played (neither was I). We talked a lot about that match and then he had his best performance of the tournament against Todoran. After that match he was really happy and excited about his standard of play. Just focusing on his performance rather than the outcome or the score was a major boost for him,” said Race, who mentored Lam on Saipan before he moved to Europe with his family a couple of years back.

Lam now resides in Mallorca, Spain and one of his coaches is Tony Nadal, uncle of 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.

Lam and Das and their coaches (Das was coached by Celine Schneider) competed at Wimbledon with their airfare, accommodation, meals, transfers, transportation, and accreditation all fully paid.

The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club established Inaugural 14U Championships because they want to see juniors being able to compete on grass earlier in their careers than is currently the case. The 14U boy’s and girl’s events (16 draw) showcased the best 14U players from each of the six International Tennis Federation regions plus the four grand slam nations.