“If you look at the success of our top players like Coleman Wong, Eudice Chong and Cody Wong, I think it’s a testament to the success of our development programme,” Mok said. “It also sets a really good example to the young kids to see that what the possibilities are for them to pursue tennis as a career.”

Coleman Wong Chak-lam, who ranks No 253 in the world, is enjoying one of his highest rankings in his career, while Chong and Wong Hong-yi both rank inside the top 300.

“They have done a really good job getting to some very high positions in the professional rankings,” said Mok, who will remain a board member at the association.

“I think the formula for developing tennis in Hong Kong has proven to work, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing this number of top players doing so well internationally.”

The 52-year-old also thought that top local players breaking into the top 200, could drive Hong Kong tennis even further forward.

“Kids idolise Wong, when they go to tournaments, they are not just looking for the autographs and selfies with the international players,” he said. “But Coleman is equally popular.

“So, you can see he’s already a role model, if he wins something big, or defeats some big-name players, it will be great for the sport’s development here.”

While the businessman acknowledged money was “never an issue” when it came to the development of tennis in the city, he said he would like to see more corporate support for the sport.

“The corporates [in other more successful tennis countries] really buy into this whole concept,” Mok said. “They sponsor athletes and their athletes represent them in the marketing activities.

“And very often when these athletes retire, they are placed to work in those companies, with Japan and Korea some prime examples.”

From a committee member to a council member, and eventually the president at HKTA, Mok has witnessed the development of the sport in the city from different positions throughout the years, and he believed Hong Kong to be ahead of the curve, something not necessarily “visible” to the casual observer.

“Of course, Japan and Korea leads the pack by a mile,” he said. “But if you compare ourselves with countries at a similar development level in Asia, we are definitely ahead.

“Those who are in the tennis industry know what Hong Kong tennis has been doing, the players that we’ve been producing, and the major tournaments we’ve been able to attract.”

Looking back at his eight-year adventure with the association, the Hongkonger said the state of the tennis would have been “even better” if it wasn’t for the Covid-19 pandemic, and hinted Hong Kong needed to do better with the transition from juniors to the full-time professionals.

“There are not enough people doing that because there’s still not a strong enough sports culture where they see this as a viable career path,” Mok said.

“And in order to change that, it’s also a work that you have to do with the parents as well, this is a very important breakthrough that Hong Kong needs.

“But it’s happening when you look at the results we have been achieving at the Olympics, Asian Games, and major stars we produced like [fencer] Cheung Ka-long, [swimmer] Siobhan Haughey and [cyclist] Sarah Lee Wai-sze.

“People are, for the first time, really looking up to these top athletes.”