Ann Li (tennis)
American tennis player (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ann Li (Chinese: 李吉妮[2]; born June 26, 2000) is an American tennis player. She has a career-high singles singles ranking by the WTA of world No. 29, achieved on 4 May 2026 and a doubles ranking of No. 134, achieved on 30 March 2026.[3] Li has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour, and three titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Li was a finalist at the 2017 Junior Wimbledon in a first all-American girls' final since 1979.
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Li at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Born | June 26, 2000 |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Turned pro | 2017 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Henner Nehles (2020-current) |
| Prize money | US$ 3,517,878 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 273–190 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 29 (4 May 2026) |
| Current ranking | No. 29 (4 May 2026) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2021) |
| French Open | 2R (2021, 2025, 2026) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2022, 2025) |
| US Open | 4R (2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 23–32 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 134 (30 March 2026) |
| Current ranking | No. 135 (4 May 2026) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2022, 2026) |
| French Open | 3R (2025) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2021, 2022, 2025) |
| US Open | 2R (2025) |
| Last updated on: 9 May 2026. | |
Personal background
Career
2017–2018: Juniors, professional debut
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.[4][5] Two weeks later, Li won her first professional title on the ITF Circuit, a $15k tournament in Evansville, Indiana.[6]
Li entered the Lexington Challenger where she defeated Renata Zarazúa, Julia Glushko, Anastasia Nefedova, Jessica Pegula, before losing to Asia Muhammad, in straight sets. She participated at the Landisville Challenge where she defeated former British No. 1, Heather Watson, and Wimbledon finalist, Sabine Lisicki, but lost to Madison Brengle in the quarterfinals. In the ITF Templeton Pro, she eliminated fellow wildcard Sophia Whittle but lost to Sofya Zhuk. She tried to qualify for the 2018 US Open but lost to Marie Bouzková. She then entered an ITF event in Texas where she lost to Naomi Broady. Her best result after the US Open was at Stockton where she beat Jovana Jakšić and Lauren Davis, before yet again falling to Madison Brengle. In Templeton, she won against Nicole Gibbs before losing to Hailey Baptiste.
2020: Major debut and third round, top 100
At the Australian Open, Li played made her Grand Slam debut, after successfully qualifying for the main draw.[7] She advanced to the second round, where she lost to the eventual champion, Sofia Kenin.[8]
Li reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career at the US Open defeating 13th seed Alison Riske en route,[9][10] before her run was ended by 17th seed Angelique Kerber.[11] She reached the top-100 at world No. 97, on 9 November 2020.[12][13][3]
2021: First WTA Tour title, major third round, top 50
Li reached a third round of a Grand Slam championship for the second time at the Australian Open, losing to seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka.[14][15] She also reached the second round at the French Open on her debut at this major,[16] at which point she lost to fifth seed Elina Svitolina.[17]
Li won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Tenerife Ladies Open, defeating Camila Osorio in the final, in straight sets.[18][19] 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.[3] In November, she was nominated on the list for the "2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year".[20]
2022–2023: WTA 1000 third round
At the 2022 Miami Open, Li reached the third round of a WTA 1000 for the first time defeating third seed Anett Kontaveit,[21][22] before losing to Alison Riske.[23]
In June, Li made the second round at Wimbledon, overcoming Lucia Bronzetti for her first win at this major.[24] Li lost to Marie Bouzková.[25]
Li qualified for the 2023 Cincinnati Open where she defeated Magda Linette in the first round,[26] before losing to second seed Aryna Sabalenka.[27] She also made it through qualifying at the Guadalajara Open, but lost in the first round of the main draw to Sloane Stephens.[28]
2024: First WTA 125 title and WTA 250 final
She qualified for her first WTA 500 tournament since the 2022 Bad Homburg Open at the San Diego Open, defeating Kayla Day in the last round of qualifying but lost to eventual runner-up, Marta Kostyuk, in the main-draw first round.[29][30]
In June, Li won her first WTA 125 title at the Open Internacional de Valencia, defeating top seed Viktoriya Tomova in the final.[31][32] The following month, she reached the quarterfinals in Palermo with wins over third seed Peyton Stearns, where she saved a match point,[33] and Erika Andreeva,[34] before losing to Irina-Camelia Begu.[35]
At the Mérida Open, she defeated eighth seed Nuria Parrizas-Diaz,[36] Antonia Ružić[37] Jil Teichmann[38][39] and Polina Kudermetova[40] to reach the final, which she lost to Zeynep Sönmez in straight sets.[41]
2025: Second career title, US Open fourth round
Li reached the final at the Singapore Open with wins over Daria Saville,[42] lucky loser Maria Timofeeva,[43] wildcard entrant Kimberly Birrell[44] and top seed Anna Kalinskaya.[45] She lost the championship match to second seed Elise Mertens, in straight sets.[46]
At the Madrid Open, she defeated qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich[47] and 25th seed Leylah Fernandez[48] to make it into the third round, where she lost to fourth seed Coco Gauff.[49] Li reached the quarterfinals at the Morocco Open, overcoming lucky loser Maria Timofeeva[50] and Hailey Baptiste,[51] before losing to eventual champion Maya Joint.[52]
At the French Open, she defeated qualifier María Lourdes Carlé[53] to set up a second round meeting with third seed Jessica Pegula which she lost in straight sets.[54] Li also made the second round at Wimbledon with a win over Viktorija Golubic,[55] only to lose to 24th seed Elise Mertens.[56] Seeded ninth at the Prague Open, successes against qualifier Astra Sharma[57] and Léolia Jeanjean[58] saw her reach the quarterfinals, at which point her run was ended by fifth seed and eventual champion Marie Bouzková in three sets.[59]
In August at Tennis in Cleveland, Li defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva,[60] Iva Jovic,[61] Elsa Jacquemot[62] and second seed Xinyu Wang to make it through to the final,[63] which she lost to qualifier Sorana Cîrstea.[64] Li maintained her good form the following week at the US Open where wins over Rebecca Šramková,[65] 16th seed Belinda Bencic[66] and qualifier Priscilla Hon saw her reach the fourth round of a major for the first time,[67] before her run was ended by fourth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets.[68]
In October, at the Guangzhou Open, Li defeated lucky loser Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva,[69] Camila Osorio[70] and Elisabetta Cocciaretto to make it through to the semifinals.[71] She then progressed to the final when her last four opponent, wildcard entrant Zhang Shuai, retired during the first set of their match due to a hip injury.[72] In the championship match, Li defeated qualifier Lulu Sun in straight sets to claim her second WTA title.[73][74] As a result, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 33 on 27 October 2025.[75]
2026: WTA 1000 fourth round, top 30
In February at the WTA 1000 Qatar Ladies Open, Li defeated Leylah Fernandez[76] and Magdalena Fręch,[77] before losing in the third round to lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a match lasting two hours and 55 minutes.[78]
Seeded fifth at the Open de Rouen in April, she recorded wins over Daria Kasatkina[79] and Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the quarterfinals,[80] at which point her run was ended by top seed and eventual champion Marta Kostyuk.[81] At the Madrid Open, Li received a bye as 31st seed and then defeated Alycia Parks[82] and world No. 4 Iga Swiatek, who retired due to illness while trailing in the third set, to make it through to the fourth round,[83] where she lost to 24th seed Leylah Fernandez.[84]
At the Strasbourg Open, Li reached her first WTA Tour clay court semifinal with a run which included defeating second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova[85] and eighth seed Marie Bouzková.[86] She lost to Emma Navarro in the last four.[87]
In June at the Nottingham Open, Li reached her first grass court quarterfinal with wins over Kimberly Birrell[88] and Taylah Preston[89] She lost to Viktorija Golubic in the last eight.[90]
Personal life
In her spare time, Li enjoys playing the ukulele.[91]
Performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup, and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[92]
Singles
Current through the 2026 Italian Open.
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | Q2 | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% |
| French Open | A | A | A | Q2 | 2R | 1R | A | Q1 | 2R | 2R | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% |
| Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | NH | 1R | 2R | Q2 | Q1 | 2R | 0 /3 | 2–3 | 40% | |
| US Open | Q1 | Q1 | Q2 | 3R | 1R | 1R | Q2 | 1R | 4R | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | 50% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–4 | 2–2 | 0 / 17 | 14–17 | 45% |
| WTA 1000 | |||||||||||||
| Qatar Open[a] | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 3R | 0 / 2 | 3–2 | 60% |
| Dubai Open [a] | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | Q1 | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Indian Wells Open | A | Q1 | A | NH | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 1–5 | 17% |
| Miami Open | A | Q1 | A | NH | A | 3R | A | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | 50% |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | 3R | 4R | 0 / 2 | 4–2 | 67% |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | NH | Q2 | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Cincinnati Open | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | |
| Guadalajara Open | NH | 1R | 1R | NMS | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | ||||||
| China Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Wuhan Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | |
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||
| Tournaments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 13 | Career total: 79 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Career total: 2[b] | ||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Career total: 6[b] | ||
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 19–10 | 10–16 | 1–4 | 7–5 | 31–24 | 12–13 | 1 / 79 | 83–76 | 52% |
| Year-end ranking | 583 | 310 | 148 | 97 | 47 | 140 | 174 | 99 | 38 | $3,544,133 | |||
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finalist | NP | Feb 2021 | Grampians Trophy, Australia | WTA 500 | Hard |  Anett Kontaveit |
cancelled[b] |
| Win | 1–0 | Oct 2021 | Tenerife Ladies Open, Spain | WTA 250 | Hard |  Camila Osorio |
6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Oct 2024 | Mérida Open, Mexico | WTA 250 | Hard |  Zeynep Sönmez |
2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Feb 2025 | Singapore Open, Singapore | WTA 250 | Hard (i) |  Elise Mertens |
1–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Aug 2025 | Tennis in Cleveland, US | WTA 250 | Hard |  Sorana Cîrstea |
1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | Oct 2025 | Guangzhou Open, China | WTA 250 | Hard |  Lulu Sun |
7–6(8–6), 6–2 |
WTA Challenger finals
Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 2024 | Internacional de Valencia, Spain | Clay |  Viktoriya Tomova |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jul 2024 | Båstad Open, Sweden | Clay |  Martina Trevisan |
2–6, 2–6 |
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups)
| Legend |
|---|
| W100 tournaments (0–3) |
| W80 tournaments (1–0) |
| W60 tournaments (0–3) |
| W25 tournaments (1–1) |
| W15 tournaments (1–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 2017 | ITF Evansville, United States | W15 | Hard |  Marcela Zacarías |
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Aug 2018 | Lexington Challenger, United States | W60 | Hard |  Asia Muhammad |
5–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Apr 2019 | ITF Jackson, United States | W25 | Clay |  Katarzyna Kawa |
3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Apr 2019 | Osprey Challenger, United States | W25 | Clay | Usue Maitane Arconada |
6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–3 | May 2019 | Bonita Springs Championship, US | W100 | Clay | Lauren Davis |
5–7, 5–7 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Aug 2019 | Lexington Challenger, US | W60 | Hard |  Kim Da-bin |
1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Aug 2019 | Concord Tennis Open, US | W60 | Hard | Caroline Dolehide |
3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 3–5 | Oct 2020 | Tyler Pro Challenge, US | W80 | Hard |  Marta Kostyuk |
7–5, 1–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–6 | May 2023 | Bonita Springs Championship, US | W100 | Clay | Kayla Day |
2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3–7 | Oct 2024 | Tennis Classic of Macon, US | W100 | Hard |  Anna Blinkova |
6–2, 2–6, 6–7(4) |
Doubles: 3 (3 runner-ups)
| Legend |
|---|
| W100 tournaments (0–2) |
| W60 tournaments (0–1) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2019 | Midland Tennis Classic, United States | W100 | Hard (i) | Coco Gauff |
 Olga Govortsova Valeria Savinykh |
4–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Aug 2019 | Lexington Challenger, US | W60 | Hard | Jamie Loeb |
Robin Anderson  Jessika Ponchet |
6–7(4), 7–6(5), [7–10] |
| Loss | 0–3 | Feb 2024 | Guanajuato Open, Mexico | W100 | Hard |  Rebecca Marino |
Hailey Baptiste Whitney Osuigwe |
5–7, 4–6 |
Junior Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2017 | Wimbledon | Grass | Claire Liu |
2–6, 7–5, 2–6 |
Head-to-head record
Top 10 wins
| Season | 2022 | 2026 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | ALR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | |||||||
| 1. | Anett Kontaveit |
No. 7 | Miami Open, US | Hard | 2R | 6–0, 3–6, 6–4 | No. 65 |
| 2026 | |||||||
| 2. | Iga Świątek |
No. 4 | Madrid Open, Spain | Clay | 3R | 7–6(7–4), 2–6, 3–0 ret. | No. 34 |
Notes
- 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.
- The 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.[14]
