Court Sense

Duckhee Lee was born deaf— and with talent that makes him one of the game’s top prospects

- Blair Henley

The sounds of a professional tennis match are unmistakable: the pop of the ball off the strings, the intonations of a chair umpire, the crowd cheering in the stands.

South Korea’s Duckhee Lee, a 19-year-old who rose to a career-high rank of No. 130 in the world earlier this year, hears nothing. Born completely deaf, he relies on his eye sight and anticipation skills on the court to compensate for his disability.

“Because I’ve never heard before, I can’t imagine how I would play if I could,” Lee says. “Deafness is a part of my tennis life. It sometimes gives me disadvantages, but it has never discouraged me.”