Deaf News: Deaf player aiming to qualify for Wimbledon 2018 (via BBC News)

South Korean player Lee Duck-hee is aiming to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon 2018, and is playing at Roehampton this week, where he is just three wins away from making it to the tournament proper.

Extract from BBC News:

“I’m very proud of myself as being the only deaf professional tennis player in the world at the moment,” the 20-year-old told BBC Sport.

“I feel huge responsibility that my every step as a tennis player will influence other deaf people. I hope my career could give them a hopeful message that they could also overcome their disability and make their dream come true.”

Lee, who observes the way opponents swing for the ball as a way of reading the game and whose matches have been thrown off course because he has been confused by officials’ hand signals, reached a career-high ranking of 130 in April 2017.

Now ranked 233, he has come agonisingly close to Grand Slam main draws, reaching the final round of qualifying at the French Open last month where he had two match points before losing in a third set tie-break.