Daniel Nguyễn will play for Việt Nam at the upcoming SEA Games. — Photo banhni.vn

HÀ NỘI — Daniel Nguyễn has received his Việt Nam passport in time to represent the country at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in late November.

The Vietnamese-American player is 29 and currently ranks No 355 in the world. His highest rank was No 189 which earned him berths at the Australian Open and US Open.

Daniel, whose parents are Vietnamese, has become a familiar face in Việt Nam over the past few years.

He has been playing for Tây Ninh Tennis Club for almost a year. He has been hoping to become a member of the Việt Nam team for a long time. It took the Việt Nam Tennis Federation a month to complete the procedures and Daniel officially became Vietnamese on October 28 under the name of Daniel Cao Nguyễn.

He has been registered to compete for Việt Nam together with four other male and five female teammates at the SEA Games.

Daniel, as the highest-ranking player in ASEAN, is expected to win Việt Nam's first-ever tennis gold medal. Daniel, who won two titles at the ITF World Tennis Tour M25 earlier this month, can play both singles and doubles. 

The tennis competition will be played from December 1-7 at the RMSC Tennis Courts, Metro Manila. — VNS