Portal:Tennis/Selected biography/27

Kho Sin-Khie, (Chinese: 许承基; pinyin: Xu Chengji, Mandarin pronunciation: [xǔ tʂʰəŋ˧˥tɕi˥˩]; 2 September 1912 – 31 January 1947) was an Indonesian-born tennis player who represented the Republic of China in the Davis Cup. He was from the Peranakan Chinese ethnic group. He was the first Chinese player ever to win a major international tournament. He won twice the British Hard Court Championships and the Surrey Grass Court Championships on one occasion. He was a Swiss, Italian and Swedish champion as well.

Kho was born and raised in Java to a poor family in an eggplant farm where his father, Han Ting was the head of the village. He had three brothers and three sisters. After he had been dropped out of school he started playing tennis at the age of 14, while working in a sports equipment store. Kho won numerous tournaments in Europe, most notably winning the British Hard Court Championships twice, in 1938 and 1939 and was a runner-up in 1946. He reached the fourth round of the 1936 French Championships and 1938 Wimbledon Championships. Kho appeared in six Davis Cup ties for China, between 1935–1946, winning eight of his 18 rubbers.

On 27 January 1940 he married Jane Margaret Gordon Balfour, daughter of E.J. Gordon Balfour, a judge in Ceylon. In order to help his country against the Empire of Japan he participated in a series of exhibition matches with Englishman Pat Hughes in the Malacca Lawn Tennis Club. While in London on 31 January 1947, Kho was admitted to hospital with double pneumonia and died soon after.