In his first appearance in a top-level tournament, Lee Duck-hee beat Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open on Monday.
Following his historic win, the tour’s first deaf professional player hoped that his story empowers other hearing-impaired athletes around the world.
"Don't be discouraged and if you try hard, you can do anything, you can achieve anything you want," Lee said.
"I don't want people to get discouraged and get down about their disability."
Lee begun playing tennis at the age of seven and admitted that he had been ridiculed growing up.
"People made fun of me for my disability," he said.
"I wanted to show everyone that I could do this."
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