Meet the Member: Austin Lee
Where are you from? If not from Reno, what brought you here?
I’ve been in Reno my entire life! I went to school in Reno, went to college in Reno, landed my first job in Reno, and bought a house in Reno! I love it here! My family members are Chinese/Vietnamese immigrants who started their American life in Kalamazoo, Michigan and settled in Reno!
How long have you been a member of WTC?
I’ve been a member of WTC since 2021.
What WTC or activities do you participate in?
I participate in the singles ladder, bump doubles, and I captain USTA teams out of WTC year round!
What’s your Tennis story? What got you started and what keeps you going?
I had a childhood friend introduce me to the game when I was in middle school. He would ring my doorbell and we would walk to the McQueen High School tennis courts to play. I played varsity tennis in high school and was a benchwarmer all four years. After graduating high school, I took a break from tennis and played ultimate frisbee for the next 7 years. I would get injured every other month playing frisbee and I decided all these injuries were not worth playing this sport; I started playing tennis again as an adult and fell in love all over again. Being able to see tangible improvements in my game keeps me on the court for hours on end. There’s always something about my game I can improve and I will work on it for weeks and months, with a ball machine, a drill partner, or in a match, until that something becomes second nature.
Do you have any tennis goals for 2024?
I have two goals for 2024:
1. Beat all the players who beat me in 2023 — watch out, I’m coming for all of you!
2. Improve my 2024 trash talk for when I win OR lose to all the people who beat me in 2023.
What is another favorite hobby other than Tennis? Can you give a recommendation?
My parents didn’t encourage me to participate in activities outside of school. In fact, they strongly encouraged me to spend my free time studying. But I didn’t listen to them: before tennis, I used to spend all my free time playing video games! But now tennis takes up all that time. I stay up late at night playing video games. You can catch me online (late at night) playing Overwatch with my friends and family. But my favorite game right now is Factorio.It is a game that simulates being an engineer in an ever-expanding factory.
Would you like to share anything about your family, pets included?
I’ve been engaged to my fiancee, Thoann, for over a year and we were going to have Scott Pearson marry us on April 23, 2024, but I got cold feet and asked to move the marriage to a future date. We’re still together and engaged… but now Thoann wants a dog as compensation.
Would you like to share anything about your occupation?
My current occupation as a Quality Engineer for Panasonic is limiting my time to play tennis! My current gig is incredibly stressful and I am always questioning the ethics about enslaving people to 40 hour work weeks — how do people have time to do anything after work?! But I enjoy the challenging and fast-paced environment despite my moral quandary musings; it keeps my brain from rotting.
Who is your favorite tennis player? Why?
Daniil Medvedev and I are kindred souls. I watched a video interview and he was asked what he would be doing if he wasn’t playing pro tennis. He said video games! But Roger Federer was the player I looked up to when I played in high school. I cried with him as he was giving his retirement speech at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Do you have any plans for the summer?
My fiancee and I recently closed on a house, and we own next to no furniture! We spent the first week after closing sleeping on a couch in the living room! So this summer, we’ll be shopping at TJ Maxx, IKEA, and Facebook Marketplace for furniture and decorations! Being a homeowner is expensive!
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I played the viola and I was heavily involved in the music community in my youth. I was part of a youth and honor orchestra, I took lessons, and practiced all the time. But one day I realized I enjoy playing sports more than playing music. I still have my viola, but it sits and collects dust in my childhood bedroom. Now that I am a homeowner it will make for a wonderful piece of decor!
