Young tennis ace Nguyen Hoang Thien is included among the list of top 100 young players in the world, according to rankings released early this month.

HCM City-based Thien, who started his tennis career at the age of eight, rose to 67th place in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings with 277.5 points.

Thien's surge in the rankings stems from his successes in recent international tournaments as well as the ITF's removal of players who are over 18 years old from the list.

Thien's latest noticeable achievement was winning the singles event at Hong Kong Open Junior Championships 2011.

The new ranking allows the 17-year-old to compete in youth events at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Thien, coached by French coaches Tom Kindavong and Marcel Donminique Petit, is working hard to prepare for the boys event at the Australian Open./.