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Friday, August 25
Lee chooses to play for Taiwan
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Even for a tennis player, Janet Lee has a lot of addresses.
She was born in Lafayette, Ind. For most of her life, including
now, she lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
But later this month, Lee will play doubles at the Sydney
Olympics, competing for Chinese Taipei -- the International Olympic
Committee's name for Taiwan.
Playing in the U.S. Open qualifying this week, Lee is listed as
being from the United States. On Thursday, she won her first-round
match, beating Eva Krejcova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
"I didn't know that," Lee said when told that she was listed
as being from the United States rather than from Taiwan. "I don't
look at the draw, but it's been changed for about three years. In
November 1997 I officially chose Taipei."
As a junior, she won the 1991 USTA Girls 14s and, two years
later, the Girls 18s. The same two years, she won the same two age
groups in the Easter Bowl, a tournament restricted to American
players.
She's not alone on the worldwide tennis tour with more than one
flag plastered on their luggage.
Francisco Gonzalez, who grew up in Puerto Rico, played Davis Cup
for Paraguay. Mark Merklein of Gainesville, Fla., played Davis Cup
for the Bahamas. Peter Wright, currently the tennis coach at the
University of California, is also the Davis Cup coach and a former
player for Ireland.
As a junior, Lee was spotlighted by the U.S. Tennis Association,
which helped with her coaching and travel. It made her decision to
switch countries more difficult.
"I considered playing for Taiwan for several months," she
said. "The USTA had put money into me and I didn't want my
decision to affect how the USTA might treat other Asian-Americans.
"But there were a lot more opportunities for me in Taiwan. It
was a fun move for me."
She plays Fed Cup -- the women's version of Davis Cup -- for
Chinese Taipei, the Asian Games every four years and tournaments in
Taiwan and other countries in the Far East.
Once, she said, she played two tournaments in Tokyo in
consecutive weeks. The tournaments were held at the same facility,
but the players had to change hotels on the middle Sunday.
This summer, she logged more frequent flier miles than she
really wanted.
"I played a tournament in June in Taiwan between the French
Open and Wimbledon," she said. "It was on hard court."
In that three-week period, she played three different surfaces
while circling the globe. Almost normal for today's professional
tennis players.
Lee's partner on the Taiwan Fed Cup team until she recently
retired was Shi-Ting Wang, who won six tournaments during her
career.
At the Sydney Olympics, Lee will be paired with Tzu-Ting Weng.
They were awarded wild-card berths into the doubles competition.
Lee is ranked 161st in the world in doubles, Weng 333rd -- the two
highest-ranked doubles players from Taiwan.
When they step onto the court in Sydney, it will be the first
time they have played doubles together since they were 14. Lee said
she met Weng while they were playing an International Tennis
Federation junior event in Taipei. By chance, Lee even stayed at
Weng's home during the tournament.
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