Claire Liu (born May 25, 2000) is an American professional tennis player. On 30 January 2023, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 52 by the WTA.
Liu has won one singles title and one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as six titles in singles and one doubles title in tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit.
Claire grew up in Thousand Oaks, California. Both of her parents are Chinese immigrants.[1] In 2023, Claire began maintaining a blog that recounts her experiences on the professional tennis tour and personal life. [2]
Career
Juniors
Grand Slam results - Singles:
Australian Open: –
French Open: F (2017)
Wimbledon: W (2017)
US Open: 2R (2013, 2016)
Grand Slam results - Doubles:
Australian Open: –
French Open: QF (2017)
Wimbledon: W (2016)
US Open: QF (2016)
Liu won the Wimbledon junior doubles tournament in 2016 with fellow American Usue Maitane Arconada, defeating Mariam Bolkvadze and Caty McNally in the final, in straight sets. The following year, after losing the French Open junior final to Whitney Osuigwe, she came back to win the Wimbledon singles title against Ann Li, making her the first American girl to win the event since Chanda Rubin in 1992.[3] With this Grand Slam success, Liu rose to world No. 1 in the girls' junior rankings.
2015: First professional title, mixed doubles major debut
She won her first professional title in March 2015, at an Orlando clay-court tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit.[4] At age 14, Liu was the youngest tennis player to win a professional tournament since Anna Kournikova in 1996.[5]
After securing two ITF tournament wins in 2017, Liu was granted again a wildcard into the qualifying for the US Open. She defeated all three of her opponents in the qualifying tournament, earning her a spot in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam championship for the first time.[6] There, she was defeated in the first round, in straight sets by Duan Yingying.
In their doubles main-draw debut at a major, Liu and Taylor Johnson lost in the first round of the US Open.[7]
2018: First Grand Slam match win
At the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, Liu advanced to the main draw by winning all of her qualifying matches. She lost in the second round to the eventual champion Angelique Kerber.[8] Liu was the only player in the tournament to win a set against Kerber.[9]
2019–2021: Top 100 debut
In October 2019, Liu won her fourth title on the ITF Circuit at a $25k tournament in Florence, South Carolina.[10]
After finishing as a runner-up in two tournaments in 2020 and another two in 2021, Liu won consecutive tournaments in May 2021 at a $60k tournament in Charlottesville, Virginia[11] and a $100k tournament in Charleston.[12] As a result, she entered the top 100 on 23 August 2021.
2022: Maiden Tour final, top 60 year-end ranking
In May, she reached her maiden WTA Tour final in Rabat, losing to Martina Trevisan who was also a first-time Tour tournament finalist.[13] As a result, she reached the top 75 on 23 May 2022.
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
^ abThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
^2016: WTA ranking-838,
...
2019: WTA ranking-472,
2020: WTA ranking-462.