Ann Li

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 tournament debut, after qualifying for the main draw. She advanced to the second round, where she lost to the eventual champion, Sofia Kenin.

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, before her run was ended by 17th seed Angelique Kerber. She reached the top 100 at world No. 97, on 9 November 2020. She also reached the second round at the French Open on her debut at this major, at which point she lost to fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

Li won her maiden WTA Tour title at the Tenerife Ladies Open, defeating Camila Osorio in the final, in straight sets. With this title, her ranking rose into the top 50 for the first time, reaching a new career-high of No. 48 on 25 October 2021. In November, she was nominated on the list for the "2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year".

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, before losing to Alison Riske.

In June, Li made the second round at Wimbledon, overcoming Lucia Bronzetti for her first win at this major. Li lost to Marie Bouzková.

Li qualified for the 2023 Cincinnati Open where she defeated Magda Linette in the first round, before losing to second seed Aryna Sabalenka. She also made it through qualifying at the Guadalajara Open, but lost in the first round of the main draw to Sloane Stephens.

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.

In June, Li won her first WTA 125 title at the Open Internacional de Valencia, defeating top seed Viktoriya Tomova in the final. The following month, she reached the quarterfinals in Palermo with wins over third seed Peyton Stearns, where she saved a match point, and Erika Andreeva, before losing to Irina-Camelia Begu.

Then, at the Mérida Open, she defeated eighth seed Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, Antonia Ružić Jil Teichmann and Polina Kudermetova to reach the final, which she lost to Zeynep Sönmez in straight sets.

2025: Second career title, US Open fourth round Li reached the final at the Singapore Open with wins over Daria Saville, lucky loser Maria Timofeeva, wildcard entrant Kimberly Birrell and top seed Anna Kalinskaya. She lost the championship match to second seed Elise Mertens, in straight sets.

At the Madrid Open, she defeated qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich and 25th seed Leylah Fernandez to make it into the third round, where she lost to fourth seed Coco Gauff. Li reached the quarterfinals at the Morocco Open, overcoming lucky loser Maria Timofeeva and Hailey Baptiste, before losing to eventual champion Maya Joint.

At the French Open, she defeated qualifier María Lourdes Carlé to set up a second round meeting with third seed Jessica Pegula which she lost in straight sets. Li also made the second round at Wimbledon with a win over Viktorija Golubic, only to lose to 24th seed Elise Mertens. Seeded ninth at the Prague Open, successes against qualifier Astra Sharma and Léolia Jeanjean saw her reach the quarterfinals, at which point her run was ended by fifth seed and eventual champion Marie Bouzková in three sets.

In August at Tennis in Cleveland, Li defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva, Iva Jovic, Elsa Jacquemot and second seed Wang Xinyu to make it through to the final, which she lost to qualifier Sorana Cîrstea. Li maintained her good form the following week at the US Open where wins over Rebecca Šramková, 16th seed Belinda Bencic and qualifier Priscilla Hon saw her reach the fourth round of a major for the first time, before her run was ended by fourth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

In October, at the Guangzhou Open, Li defeated lucky loser Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva, Camila Osorio and Elisabetta Cocciaretto to make it through to the semifinals. 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. In the championship match, Li defeated qualifier Lulu Sun in straight sets to claim her second WTA title. As a result, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 33 on 27 October 2025.

2026: WTA 1000 fourth round, top 30 In February at the WTA 1000 Qatar Ladies Open, Li defeated Leylah Fernandez and Magdalena Fręch, before losing in the third round to lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a match lasting two hours and 55 minutes.

Seeded fifth at the Open de Rouen in April, she recorded wins over Daria Kasatkina and Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the quarterfinals, at which point her run was ended by top seed and eventual champion Marta Kostyuk. At the Madrid Open, Li received a bye as 31st seed and then defeated Alycia Parks 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, where she lost to 24th seed Leylah Fernandez.

At the Strasbourg Open, Li reached her first WTA Tour clay court semifinal with a run which included defeating second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and eighth seed Marie Bouzková. She lost to Emma Navarro in the last four.

In June at the Nottingham Open, Li reached her first grass court quarterfinal with wins over Kimberly Birrell and Taylah Preston She lost to Viktorija Golubic in the last eight.

Seeded 28th at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, she made it through to the third round where she lost to fourth seed Coco Gauff. At the Monterrey Open, Li defeated Camila Osorio .and then received a walkover when qualifier Maria Timofeeva withdrew from the tournament. Next she overcame wildcard entrant Alycia Parks, before losing to Diane Parry in the semifinals.

Personal life In her spare time, Li enjoys playing the ukulele.

Performance timeline

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.

Singles Current through the 2026 Italian Open.

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) LegendWTA 500 WTA 250 (2–3)Finals by surfaceHard (2–3)Clay (0–0)Finals by settingOutdoor (2–2)Indoor (0–1)

WTA 125 finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups) LegendW100 tournaments (0–3)W80 tournaments (1–0)W60 tournaments (0–3)W25 tournaments (1–1)W15 tournaments (1–0)

Doubles: 3 (3 runner-ups) LegendW100 tournaments (0–2)W60 tournaments (0–1)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Head-to-head record

Top 10 wins PlayerRankEventSurfaceScore2022 1. Anett KontaveitNo. 7Miami Open, USHard2R 6–0, 3–6, 6–4 No. 652026 2. Iga ŚwiątekNo. 4Madrid Open, SpainClay3R 7–6(7–4), 2–6, 3–0 ret. No. 34