Carol Lee reflects on Aussie Open run, eyes more tournaments

NMI’s own professional tennis player, Carol Lee, recently made history at the Australian Open (Jan. 13-15), then went straight into another tournament before heading to France this week for her next competition.

The 24-year-old Lee won two matches at the AO, defeating Germany’s Hanne Vandewinkel 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Australia’s Elena Micic 6-2, 6-2, before falling to Czech Republic’s Linda Fruhvirtova in a tough three-set battle, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6. With her run, Lee became the first woman from the Pacific Oceania region to compete in the women’s singles at the Australian Open.

Lee’s work didn’t stop after the AO. She played in the singles and doubles at the W100 Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates held from Jan. 26–Feb. 1, reaching the singles quarterfinals and the doubles semifinals. She then returned to her academy in Germany to train and is set to compete in France this week.

Ranking now at 173, Lee shared that the experience at the AO was an incredible one. “I really enjoyed my time there—the atmosphere, the people around, and just being on the same spot and experiencing and meeting so many good, top players around the world, it was really incredible and I learned so many things.”

Recapping her matches, she said each one was a battle. She was nervous too, but said she was more excited to see how far she could go. Her goal was to play in the main draw, but fell a little bit short—losing in the final round of the qualifiers, but Lee said it was a good match. “I gave it my all and I’ve learned some things that I could definitely work on and improve my game level, so that’s good,” she said. “Overall, I felt like I belonged there with other top players internationally.”

She added, “I’m just proud to represent as well, coming from a small island. It was an honor to be able to compete at a high level. I felt the belief and trust from everyone in the island, my family back at home, and the crowd as well, they were cheering for me, so it gave me an extra push to even give it my all.”

The confidence from the AO carried into her UAE tournament, Lee shared. She said she focused on being more solid with her serve plus ones, more aggressive, steadier on her footwork, and more relaxed on court.

For NMI’s young tennis players who recently got back from the North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam, this is her message: “Whatever goals that you guys have in life—doesn’t have to be tennis—it could be any goals or purpose. Enjoy the journey. Tennis has its ups and down but it’s the same as life—it’s not going to be perfect. Enjoy every moment—enjoy the ups and downs. The downs is just the learning process, it doesn’t mean it’s failure, and it will help you guys get even stronger.”

She then thanked her parents Dong Min Lee and Eun Kyoung Lee, T2 Academy head coach Artem Smirnov, her agent Juandell Brunner, agency 358 sports management, sponsors Head, Quiet Please, and Voltys, as well as her many supporters back home.