Lee Duck-hee, 18, of South Korea, is ranked 143rd in the world in a sport in which hearing the ball is considered crucial.
ASAN, South Korea -- To improve its chances in the boys’ team tennis event at the National Sports Festival here, Mapo High School in Seoul brought in a ringer from Jecheon, two hours southeast of the capital. His name was Lee Duck-hee, and he had first caught the coach’s eye when he was in elementary school.
Mapo High’s players pressed against the fence beside along the dusty hardcourts and chanted in support while Lee, 18, crushed forehand winners past his bespectacled opponent in the final. The 6-1, 6-1 win took little time - no surprise, as Lee is the best teenage player in South Korea, and a professional ranked 143rd in the world.
“Seeing the level of skill, power and returning is totally different than high school level,” said Jeong Yeong-sok, his doubles partner at the tournament.
Lee is exceptional among professionals, too. He is Deaf, and no Deaf player in the sport’s history has reached these heights. In tennis, simply seeing the ball is believed to be insufficient. Hearing the ball, top players say, enables faster reactions - a crucial advantage in a sport where powerful serves and groundstrokes mean that every tiny fraction of a second matters.
Wimbledon's Rob Walker takes a look at Duck Hee Lee. Video Credit: Wimbledon
“There are so many different spins in tennis, and I can hear a lot of them coming off someone’s racket because I know what they all sound like,” said Katie Mancebo, a college tennis coach and volunteer coach for the United States Deaf tennis team. “But a Deaf player doesn’t know that sound, so they have to focus more on what the other person is doing, how they’re making contact, and what the ball looks like as it’s coming over the net.”
Joo Hyun-sang, the tennis coach at Mapo High School, said he was skeptical of Lee’s potential at first.
“When I met him the first time, I had certain doubts that being deaf would prevent him from being a great player,” he said. “But I grew confident from watching him develop and improve. I was very confident he could do it.”
Though already the second-highest-ranked player of professionals 18 and under, Lee has not fully broken through. He has yet to play a main-draw match at an ATP tournament or a Grand Slam, though he reached the final of a Challenger event, the level below the ATP World Tour, for the first time in September in Taiwan, and has made two semifinals since... Read The Full Story - New York Times.
Related Posts:
#DeafAwareness - #DeafKoreans - #DocumentaryFilm - #ShortFilm - #SouthKorea
Featured Post
Do not make the work of Deaf YouVideo content look like your own. Give credit where it is due and requires that articles be based on reliable published sources.
Posts Archive
Most Viewed Last 7 Days
-
Parental guidance is advised, The content may contain R-rated material, nudity and profanity not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. ...
-
The Biblical of Deafness "I Cannot Hear" by John Conrad Ruppel. The Bible verses about " Deafness ." John Ruppel of...
-
Why are annoying Jehovah's Witnesses door knockers so disrespectful to Deaf people, the community around the globe. This blog actuall...
-
Deaf vlogger WonderGent aka James Timothy "Tim" Troutman arrested for possession of child pornography. DALE CITY, Virginia -- A ...
-
Prank and Spank, Annette and Scott Kerr has announced that possibly leaving YouTube. The tubers entertaining Deaf couple Annette and Sco...
-
This is a short glimpse into the lives of some of Thailand's Deaf working girls in Bangkok. Anyone had experience with Deaf women in...
-
The 90 minute production for PBS: History "Through Deaf Eyes" will take a look at Deaf culture from the 19th century to the presen...
Most Viewed Last 30 Days
-
Why are annoying Jehovah's Witnesses door knockers so disrespectful to Deaf people, the community around the globe. This blog actuall...
-
The Biblical of Deafness "I Cannot Hear" by John Conrad Ruppel. The Bible verses about " Deafness ." John Ruppel of...
-
Deaf News: Michael W. Hubbs announced that he was hositpalized by stress symptoms. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Michael (Mike) Hubbs of short...
-
Parental guidance is advised, The content may contain R-rated material, nudity and profanity not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. ...
-
This is a short glimpse into the lives of some of Thailand's Deaf working girls in Bangkok. Anyone had experience with Deaf women in...
-
The U.S. Winter Olympics Deaf Speedskater, Michael W. Hubbs arrested and mugshot for probation violation in Utah. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah --...
-
Prank and Spank, Annette and Scott Kerr has announced that possibly leaving YouTube. The tubers entertaining Deaf couple Annette and Sco...
Most Viewed Of All Time
-
An Omaha girl died of bacterial meningitis over the weekend after deteriorating very quickly. OMAHA, Nebraska -- Katie Engle, 7, was a se...
-
The U.S. Winter Olympics Deaf Speedskater, Michael W. Hubbs arrested and mugshot for probation violation in Utah. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah --...
-
Democratic Vice President Joe Biden mocking an ASL interpreter. DANVILLE, Virginia -- Vice President of the United States of America Joe B...
-
Parental guidance is advised, The content may contain R-rated material, nudity and profanity not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. ...
-
Jehovah's Witnesses' ASL version "Stop Masturbating" under fire for misleading signs with facial expressions and body lang...
-
Deaf Protest will be held at the White House in Washington the District of Columbia on Sept. 5th and 6th 2015. WASHINGTON -- President Ob...
-
SportsMX - Kitchen Talk: "The Ugly Truth" Interview With Ricky Taylor. The premiere of Kitchen Talk show from SportsMX . This ...
-
The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump - Marlee Matlin and Gilbert Gottfried were incredibly hilarious performances. NEW YORK CITY -- M...
-
Deaf News: Michael W. Hubbs announced that he was hositpalized by stress symptoms. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Michael (Mike) Hubbs of short...
About This Site
Deaf YouVideo is public web site and a free assessment for everyone. A public web site is a web site that you can use to have a presence on the internet. It is a public facing site to attract customers and partners, and it usually includes increase traffic. Feel free to exploring the online community - Deaf, Hearing-Impairment, Hearing-Loss, Sign Language, News, Events, Societies, Resources, Links, Videos, Vloggers and much more. Be sure to Bookmarks this website.
Submitted content, to whom it may concern of posting on this site: YouPrivacy
Submitted content, to whom it may concern of posting on this site: YouPrivacy
Videos and Channels Powered By YouTube
RSS Feed Content
Deaf YouVideo provided by YouTube, Blogger, Google Feedburner, RSS Feed are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content as well beyond just visitors using browsers. The feed icon feeds permit subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader vlogs or blogs and etc. Submitted content and/or disabled by request consume content and will be immediately removed from Deaf YouVideo. If you see the content appears "error, blank, and feed not support", click home or refresh your browsers.
Copyright © 2020 Deaf YouVideo All Rights Reserved.
Deaf YouVideo. Powered by Blogger.