The 21 & Under Club in '21: Ann Li
Li has brought her best tennis to the post-pandemic landscape, reaching the third round at two of the last three major tournaments.
Will turn 22 on
- 6/26/2022
What she’s done since last summer
- Made back-to-back hard-court Grand Slam third round appearances at the US and Australian Open
- Became WTA co-champion at the Grampians Trophy
- Cracked the Top 100
Key Stat
- Li has moved up 78 spots in the WTA rankings since the beginning of 2020
Li has brought her best tennis to the post-pandemic landscape, reaching the third round at two of the last three major tournaments. She became a rare co-champion in her first WTA final, sharing the Grampians Trophy title with Anett Kontaveit when the championship match was canceled due to a snap COVID-19 lockdown.
“Compared to last year, I feel like I belong here more. I think overall, my body physically is a lot stronger,” said the Pennsylvania native of her ascension into the big leagues. “Tennis-wise, I’m trying to cut back on the errors and molding into a solid, ‘This is how I play every time’ game plan.”
The Grampians run featured an upset over eventual Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, and with a second semifinal finish in Monterrey, Li’s solid game plan is shaping into something truly dangerous.
Though injuries kept her off court for most of the clay-court season, the American enjoyed a winning main-draw debut at Roland Garros and, after pushing Petra Kvitova to three sets at the Bad Homburg Open, will next aim to to peak at her fast-approaching first Wimbledon.