It’s rare to catch doubles players Ethan Chan and Nigel Chen chatting on the tennis court. The 15-year-olds, however, have an unrivaled chemistry and have outperformed their rivals three times in the National School Games (NSG). In the B Division boys’ tennis final on February 29, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) defeated St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) 3-2, and the Year 4 pupils were instrumental in their school’s fourth consecutive title.
They secured an unbeatable 3-1 lead for ACS (I) after defeating Caden Fangiono and Jonas Chen 7-6, 6-2, while holding court at the Yio Chu Kang Tennis Centre. After winning NSG titles in 2023 and 2022, respectively, against Raffles Institution and SJI, this was Ethan and Nigel’s third consecutive NSG championship. Given that they have been playing together for six years, their telepathic understanding is hardly surprising. “We’ve improved so much over the years that we don’t really need to communicate on court,” Nigel stated. We are well aware of one another’s strengths and weaknesses. We don’t talk as much as other doubles partners when you see us play since we have six years of experience and this understanding.
They trust each other to do what is necessary for a strong performance in addition to being aware of each other’s talents and shortcomings. Overcoming obstacles also strengthened their relationship. Ethan stated, “Over time, we realize that this cooperation has worked out in our favor. There were times when we were both at our lowest points and we kept losing. “On the court, we’ll argue sometimes because we don’t agree with certain plays, but we always work things out and concentrate on our goals,” Nigel continued. The two have been Anglo-Chinese School friends since Primary 4. They have also competed internationally for Singapore, placing second in the Asian Tennis Federation Under-16 series in Penang in June 2023 being one of their highlights.
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