From Hong Kong Women's Champion to Harvard University

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Kelly Yenn, winner of the Hong Kong Women’s Singles Open and current Harvard freshman, is a focused, strategic learner and fighter, both on and off the table. Starting table tennis at the age of 6 in her native Hong Kong, Yenn quickly made a name for herself at just 8 years old, becoming the youngest player to have ever made the Hong Kong Youth Table Tennis Team. Winner of selection matches, she has represented Hong Kong at the World Youth Table Tennis Championships, Asian Youth Championships, East Asian Games, among many others. Now making waves in the USA, Yenn has already competed alongside the NCTTA President Willy Leparulo and the US Open where she secured 2 medals in Vegas recently.

Equally impressive as her table tennis prowess is her academic aptitude. The first-year Harvard student, intending to study Economics, Neuroscience, and Computer Science, champions that "table tennis and academics are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other”. She says that both her passions require “strategic planning, time management, adaptability, discipline, among others.”

Yenn has a thoughtful and methodical approach when it comes to preparing for her studies, as well as her matches. “Because of how tight my day-to-day schedule is… I need to be able to strategize and adapt in a way…,” she says. She mentions how in the past she would study during her commute and waiting time on her way to the Hong Kong Sports Institute (where she used to train with the full-time players as an exception, being still in school). In her studies, she suggests that to maximize effectiveness, she would always think and study from the perspectives of teachers and what the curriculum planner would want students to get the most out of the class. This approach is similar to her preparation in analyzing match videos and taking notes prior to facing different opponents.

Yenn, who first came to America this past summer, will be in her first year of college table tennis, and she is looking forward to her first NCTTA experience and making camaraderie and new core memories as she always does in table tennis.

Be sure to stay tuned for this new star in the world of college table tennis and follow Kelly on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-yenn/

(Photo Credit to Kelly Yenn)