How are deaf people disadvantaged on the tennis court when playing against a hearing opponent?
Even within the deaf tennis community there is a range of opinions on this topic! Much depends on individual experience and circumstance, and philosophy. Many hearing tennis players believe that there are useful auditory cues in hearing an opponent strike the ball, which can help with anticipation of spin and power. Some deaf people feel at a disadvantage in this regard, whereas others believe that as a deaf person they have enhanced visual acuity and awareness that more than compensates. Let calls on serve are a potential source of disadvantage. Even with hearing aids, deaf people will often miss let calls, or due to a range of issues associated with directional hearing, have difficulty attributing the source of a sound. This is rarely an issue if hearing opponents are calling lets honestly. In tennis, concentration is a major issue. Particularly where line calls are not communicated effectively (e.g. by stopping play when the ball is out, and using typical umpiring gestures relating
