On the court, Big Islanders Diana Wong and Sara Tsukamoto are all business. Off the court, they’re the exact opposite.
“I thought we had great chemistry,” Wong said. “We had the perfect balance of fun and serious.”
They dabbled more in the former at the U.S. Open National Playoffs last weekend in Waipahu, Oahu.
On a whim, Wong entered the qualifier with Tsukamoto, whom she had never played with. Wong said she didn’t even know the tournament existed until friends told her about it.
In a modest five-team field, they drew a bye and then cruised to victories in both their matches, defeating Division I college players Kristen Poei and Scout Shutter 6-1, 6-2 in the final Saturday at Central Oahu Regional Park to advance to the national qualifier in Connecticut in late August. The winner there gains a wild-card entry to the U.S. Open in New York.
“We played really well,” Wong said, “but the score didn’t show how competitive the matches were.”
Wong and Tsukamoto are two of the best female tennis players the Big Island has produced in recent memory, though their paths took them away from competing in high school tennis here. Wong only played one season in the BIIF, and Tsukamoto – the younger sister of Sayo Tsukamoto, a four-time BIIF champ for Kealakehe – moved to the mainland to advance her career before entering high school.
Sara Tsukamoto, 16, also entered the singles draw at Waipahu and beat Punahou’s Katreina Corpuz, the 2016 HHSAA champion, in straight sets in the quarterfinals. She forfeited the final against Eva Raszkiewicz because she had to play in another tournament.
Wong also played mixed doubles with her older brother Joshua Wong, a former Hilo Vikings standout, losing in the quarterfinals.
“It was really fun and surprising that we didn’t get into any arguments,” she said.
Wong, who also goes by Didi (die-die), was ranked third in the 2015 Hawaii Pacific section rankings for girls 18s, one spot behind Emily Soares, her former Hilo High teammate.
When both were freshmen in 2013, Soares beat Wong in a battle of unbeatens in a three-set BIIF final that appeared to be the beginning of a promising one-two-punch for the Vikings and a riveting rivalry come the postseason. But while Soares went on to claim two more BIIF singles crowns and add another in doubles, Wong opted to concentrate on her studies. She stayed at Hilo as a sophomore, was home-schooled her junior year and is a recent graduate of Hawaii Academy of Arts &Science.
“I really don’t have any regrets,” she said. “It gave me a chance to focus on school, and a lot of my time for myself. I found balance.”
Wong gained the attention of college recruiters through playing in United States Tennis Association tournaments, including a fourth-place finish at the winter nationals, ultimately landing a scholarship at Division I New Mexico.
“I had other offers,” she said, “but what really narrowed it down was I liked (coach Kelcy McKenna) the most.
“We made a connection.”
The next big date on her tournament calender is USTA nationals in August in San Diego, where Wong and Soares will represent Hawaii.
Wong, a recipient of the Muriel Osborne Hawaii Tennis Award and a $1,000 scholarship in 2015, already has proven she knows how to spread aloha.
“I continue to respect my opponents by playing fair and clean, because in the end, no one will remember the amount of trophies you own, but they will always remember your grace on and off the court,” she told the USTA after winning the honor.
