Sterling teen’s first-ever flight ends with Deaflympics medal in Tokyo
Like so many times in Sterling, the ball exploded off Chelsie Brown’s racket, the kind of blistering serve she has used to bury countless opponents back home in Kansas.
But this time the ace didn’t come on a small-town court against small-town competition. It came on an international stage in Tokyo, overpowering two French opponents in the 2025 Deaflympics bronze medal match and helping etch the 17-year-old’s name into Team USA history.
The next serve came just as heavy, on top of her opponent before she knew what to do, forcing a desperate return that floated over the net. Emily Hangstefer, Brown’s 36-year-old American partner and a former Deaflympics gold medalist, pounced on it and knocked away the final volley.
And as the winning shot landed, Brown — normally stoic and composed — finally let her emotions spill. A smile spread across her face, as she met Hangstefer for a celebratory high-five.
A world far bigger than the Sterling tennis star knew
Just last month, Brown’s world was Sterling High School tennis courts and the familiar faces of Kansas opponents she’s beaten 69 straight times to win two straight state championships. She had never flown on a plane before this trip. Never seen the ocean. Her family didn’t even know the Deaflympics existed until a phone call from the USA Deaf Sports Federation changed everything.
And now here she was, a teenager thousands of miles from home, winning a medal against more experienced athletes in a sport she learned to master using her eyes instead of her ears. Born hard of hearing, Brown wears hearing aids in everyday life. On the court, she has learned to navigate the sport differently than most.
While many players detect spin and pace from the sound of the ball, Brown reads everything with her eyes — the bounce, the angle, the rotation — a visual intuition that has carried her to a 69-0 record over the past two high school seasons and now onto an international podium.
A powerful partnership for Sterling’s Chelsie Brown
Brown teamed with Hangstefer in women’s doubles, forming a duo that blended youthful power with veteran savvy. Together, they tore through the early rounds with a 6-2, 6-3 win over France’s Jessica Gagnant and Emy Martins, followed by a gritty 6-2, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Italy’s Cristina Abrami and Asia Carrara.
Their only setback came in the semifinals to the Japanese team of Rina Komokata and Riko Suzuki in a 6-2, 6-1 loss. But the Americans didn’t linger on the loss.
Instead, they regrouped for the bronze medal match with Brown delivering some of the biggest serves of her life.
Closing in on match point against the French duo of Marine Beney and Jennifer Lambert, it was fitting that Brown’s serve clinched the medal. The Sterling native first delivered a booming serve that couldn’t be handled, then followed it with another that jammed the returner on match point to seal the victory.
As she walked to the net to shake hands, she couldn’t stop smiling. She kept smiling through autograph signings for fans. And she was still smiling later on the podium, when the bronze medal was draped around her neck. It was a moment as surreal as it was deserved for the youngest player on Team USA’s tennis squad.
She also played in women’s singles and mixed doubles, falling in her first match in both tournaments, but gaining invaluable experience against older, seasoned players. More than anything, her experience in Tokyo expanded her view of what’s possible.
For a teenager who had never left the country, the Deaflympics became something much bigger — a proving ground and a glimpse of a future that suddenly feels wide open.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 5:03 AM.
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