Hong Kong racket stringer serves up world-class gear to tennis stars
Behind the glamour of working with famous athletes, Dickie Lee’s job is a high-tension task, especially when it comes to his idol, Andre Agassi
You may find racket stringer Dickie Lee Hong-ming on the sidelines of many world-class tennis events but his work, which has a significant effect on a player’s performance, often takes centre court.
For years, Lee, 45, has been ensuring that professional and world famous tennis players such as Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova go on court armed with the best equipment – a well-strung tennis racket.
In his career off the court, Lee has clocked up quite a record for himself. Since 1999, he has provided stringing services for more than 23 Grand Slam tournaments and many more international competitions. It all began when he met his mentor, a professional stringer from the US.
“When I first started to learn how to string rackets, obviously I couldn’t FaceTime him back then, so I had to fax my drawings to him showing the steps I was making so he could tell if I was doing it correctly,” Lee recalled.
Despite having served at quite a number of big international tennis events, Lee said Hong Kong had always been in his heart.
Speaking at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, where he was plying his craft, he said: “I’ve done many international events around the world, but Hong Kong is and will always be my favourite. Because this is my home.” The event ends on Sunday.
Lee said it was almost two decades ago in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, where he first met the Bryan brothers, Americans Bob and Mike, professionals on the doubles circuit. The duo was in town for a tennis tournament.
“They asked me where Lan Kwai Fong was,” Lee said, referring to the city’s famed nightlife hotspot. “I told them it’s not far from here, and suggested that they should take a taxi.”
But behind the glitz and glamour of working with sports stars, the stringer said his job could be highly stressful and demanding because a player’s success depended very much on his or her racket condition.
Lee said that during the process of stringing, he had to be very precise, detail-oriented and pay attention to string tension as well as the weight strings could add to a racket, which affected a player’s performance.
“I was full of joy and curiosity when I first became a stringer because I could meet many tennis stars and world champions in person and even interact with them ... But when my favourite player Andre Agassi handed me his racket, my hands were shaking,” he recalled, saying he was too nervous to string the gear of the now retired American legend.
“A lot of people want to work as a stringer because they think it’s a glamorous job,” Lee said. “But not many people notice that it can be stressful, and you basically have to compete against time.”
Citing standards at the US Open Tennis Championships, Lee said a racket had to be strung within 18 minutes between games. Stringers also had to cope with long working hours, as a competition could sometimes run from morning till late evening, sometimes even stretching overnight, he added.
His advice for people who want to break into the industry is to be prepared for the low pay because there is not a lot of work locally. “Not a lot of people play tennis in Hong Kong, especially professionally.”
“For people who want to get into this business, it would be better to have a second job to supplement their income,” he said.
“I’m able to earn about HK$2,000 a day stringing 20 rackets. That sounds reasonable but the truth is: do we have that much demand every day?”
“I believe many stringers would agree with me that our job is very fulfilling. We play a role that helps complete a tennis competition.”
“Every time when I look back at what I’ve achieved so far, I feel very honoured. Life is short. You might have done lots of minor things that even you can’t remember.
My job has given me a chance to become part of tennis history. And that’s priceless,” he said.
