Yang Lee looks back on her five years in Pullman with great happiness, having achieved success on and off the court. Content with her playing career and is transitioning into coaching after accepting a graduate assistant position at Saint Leo University, a NCAA Division II school in Saint Leo, Florida.
Lee, a 2023 WSU graduate, will be assisting one of the top Division II tennis programs in the nation, with Saint Leo’s women’s tennis program coming off an impressive 2023 campaign that included a 21-6 record and a NCAA South Regional appearance.
“I’ve always wanted to be a coach; I love teaching people how to play tennis and making them happy when they play. That’s always my goal,” Lee said.
The Taichung, Taiwan native is beginning her coaching career earlier then she expected after deciding to no longer pursue a professional career due to countless injuries including a recent shoulder surgery. Lee’s terrific leadership skills, and initiation into coaching, have been showcased while injuries limited her past two seasons. Taking charge of helping aid her fellow international teammates at Washington State, Lee contributes her personal communication growth to her eight WSU teammates, who represent seven different countries.
“Culture really makes the difference. How people talk, how people think. I really try to connect my coaches and teammates,” Lee said.
Transitioning to the United States to play college tennis has been easy for the Taiwanese international, having spent a lot of her junior career travelling, and living in Switzerland. Taichung is where she grew up, however Lee has called many cities, including Pullman, home.
Lee doesn’t plan to go anywhere, pursuing a future head coaching job after making her way up the ladder. Lee joins many WSU international student-athletes wanting to call the United States home for longer than just college. She reflected on the importance of faith in her life and how much it has helped her transition to the U.S. from Taiwan.
“It impacts me a lot. Helps me most with the negative and down parts of my life, especially in tennis. You work hard and you lose, you can work hard and still lose, that’s how it is,” Lee said.
The 23-year-old is leaving WSU with a bachelor’s degree in social science and planning on studying sports business in graduate school.
On the court, she finished with a…
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