Honestly I wasn’t even planning to dig into tennis players today. Just sipping coffee scrolling videos when this crazy rally popped up – some Korean woman hitting impossible angles against a top seed. Commentator yelled “DABIN KIM!” and I froze mid-sip. Who is this underdog?
The Rabbit Hole Dive
Grabbed my laptop right there at the kitchen table. First search “Dabin Kim tennis” gave me nothing but junior tournament stuff. Annoying. Switched to Korean spelling “김다빈” and boom – whole different story. Fumbled through Naver sports archives for like an hour, translator butchering every sentence.
Found her pro timeline piece by piece:
- 2014: Randomly won some ITF event in Thailand ranked #500ish. Prize money? Barely covered hotel bills.
- 2018 Seoul Open: Scraped through qualifiers. Beat world #32 Kim in straight sets! Crowd went berserk.
- That insane Fed Cup run: Down match point against Japan. Saved it with a tweener lob. Korean TV replayed that shot for weeks.
My notebook looked like a madman’s scribbles by then. Cross-referenced dates with old ranking tables. Realized she’d rocketed from #247 to #51 in 8 months. How’d nobody notice?
The “Aha” Moment in My Sweaty Garage
Spent the afternoon hunting footage. Half these matches only existed in 240p quality with Korean commentary. Nearly threw my phone when the Wi-Fi cut out during her 2019 Osaka semis highlights – you know, the one where she came back from 1-5 down?
Finally found the gold: Her press conference after beating Wozniacki. Reporter asked how she handled pressure. Kim just shrugged: “When you train in public courts with kids kicking balls onto your court… Center Court feels quiet.” Laughed so hard I knocked over my water bottle. Absolute legend.
Putting the Pieces Together
Started mapping her career turning points:
- Grass court surprise: Hated grass until 2017. Then chopped her backswing. Reached Nottingham quarters.
- Serve revolution: Added 12mph post-shoulder surgery. 67% first serves against Sabalenka? Madness.
- Grand Slam ghosts: Always drew murderous early rounds. Saw her tear up at AO after losing to eventual champ Kenin.
Realized why she hooked me: Not some superstar. Just kept grinding while sponsors ignored her. Changed coaches four times! Still cracked top 30 without any big brand backing her. Makes me wanna chase my own neglected projects.
Spilled coffee on half my notes. Totally worth it.
