LONDON (AFP) – Christopher Rungkat is ploughing a lone furrow for tennis in one of the world’s most populous nations: a task made all the harder after Indonesia turned a top tennis facility into a baseball field.
Rungkat, 29, is one of Asia’s top doubles players, riding on a career high in the rankings and making his main draw debut at Wimbledon.
The 2018 Asian Games mixed doubles gold medallist hopes his exploits can inspire a new generation to take up tennis – but said it could only happen if the Indonesian authorities build the facilities.
“There are younger guys trying to come up. I know it’s tough; I’ve been there,” Rungkat told AFP.
“But we don’t really have a good facility back home in Jakarta. We had a good facility with a lot of clay courts and hard courts – but the government decided to convert them to a baseball field, which is very sad for me. It’s right in the centre of Jakarta.”
