Ann Li is a right-handed American from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, born in June 2000 to Chinese parents. She turned pro in 2016 and made her name as a junior — a Wimbledon girls' singles runner-up in 2017 — then spent years grinding the ITF and Challenger circuit. She reached the top 100 at world No. 97 on 9 November 2020. The breakthrough to a permanent tour foothold took nearly five more years.
Li's game is built on clean, flat ball-striking off both wings. She takes the ball early and redirects pace rather than spinning the court open, and she's leaned harder on the serve lately — 4.5 aces per match over the last 52 weeks, up from a 3.1 career average. The flip side is the margin: against the very top she's still hunting wins, 2-10 against top-10 opponents and 6-16 against the top 20 over her career.
The career has two title spikes, both on hard. She won her maiden WTA title at the 2021 Tenerife Ladies Open over Camila Osorio, then her second at Guangzhou in 2025. The Guangzhou run pushed her to a then-career-high. Her best Slam result came at the US Open, where she made a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time, falling to Jessica Pegula. Along the way she's tested the elite — a French Open debut loss to Elina Svitolina and an Australian Open third round against Aryna Sabalenka.
This season Li broke fresh ground, reaching a career-high world No. 29. The next step is converting that ranking into a deep run at a 1000 or a Slam — the ceiling her ball-striking has always promised.