Ann Li (born June 26, 2000) is an American tennis player. She has a career-high ranking by the WTA of No. 44 in the world, and was the runner-up in the 2017 Wimbledon Championships girls' singles final.
Personal background
Li was born into a sports family. Her aunt[who?] was a professional speed skater in China.[1] Her father played soccer in college, while her mother ran track in college.[1]
Tennis career
2017
Li reached her first junior Grand Slam singles final in 2017 at Wimbledon. In the first all-American girls' final since 1979, the unseeded Li lost to third seed Claire Liu, in three sets.[2][3] Two weeks later, Li won her first professional title on the ITF Circuit, a $15k tournament in Evansville, Indiana.[4]
At the Australian Open, Li played in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, after winning all of her qualifying matches.[5] She advanced to the second round, where she lost to the eventual champion, Sofia Kenin.[6]
Li reached a third round of a major for the first time in her career at the US Open defeating 13th seed Alison Riske.[7][8] She reached the top 100 at world No. 97, on 9 November 2020.[9][10]
2021: Australian Open third round, first title, top 50
Li reached a third round of a Grand Slam championship for the second time at the Australian Open. She then lost to seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka.[11][12] She also reached the second round at the 2021 French Open on her debut at this major.[13]
Li won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Tenerife Ladies Open, defeating Camila Osorio in the final, in straight sets.[14][15] With this title, her ranking rose into the top 50 for the first time, reaching a new career-high of world No. 48, on 25 October 2021. In November, she was nominated on the list for the "2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year".[16]
2022-2023: WTA 1000 third round
At the 2022 Miami Open, she reached the third round of a WTA 1000 for the first time defeating third seed Anett Kontaveit before losing to Alison Riske.
She reached the second round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, her first win at this major.
^The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. 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.
^ abcdefgThe WTA 500 final at the 2021 Grampians Trophy was not played due to scheduling constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both players received runner-up prize money and ranking points.[11]