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.