 Helen Wong grew up with her siblings near Chinese Playground, and received her first tennis racket as a donation from the local playground director.One of her siblings, Willie "Woo Woo" Wong would go on to earn fame as a basketball player in the 1940s.Like her brother, Wong attended St. Mary's Chinese Catholic School and played basketball for the Chinese Saints; her teams won the Catholic youth league championships in 1947 and 1949.