AMERICAN Ann Li is next up in our 2022 WTA Tour Players to Watch, after having an impressive 2021 season which featured her maiden title at the recent Tenerife Ladies Open. She finished with a 25-14 win-loss record and claimed her WTA 250 title with a straight sets win over Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.

>> MARIA CAMILA OSORIO SERRANO – WTA TOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ann Li

Height: 170cm

Weight: -

DOB: 26-06-2000

Ann Li is a prodigious talent having come through the junior ranks and straight into the Top 600 in the world in her first professional year, 2017. The American has steadily risen each WTA Tour season, clocking inside the Top 300 within a year, then inside the Top 150 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite stalling compared to her meteoric rise of the previous two seasons, Li managed to finish inside the Top 100 by year’s end of 2021, and then bolted into the Top 50 this year, right up to 47th in the world, a career-high for the 21-year-old.

JUNIOR GRAND SLAM FINALIST TO WOMEN’S TOUR

The athletic Li whose parents are both Chinese, but was born in Pennsylvania, first made real waves by reaching the Wimbledon Junior Girls Final. Whilst she lost in the final, it was the start of her senior career, where she claimed a 15K ITF event just two weeks later. The next 18 months were primarily spent on the ITF Tour, and by 2020, Li was ready to contest a senior Grand Slam.

Her maiden Grand Slam was at the 2020 Australian Open, where she reached the second round before losing to eventual champion, Sofia Kenin. A third round appearance on debut at Flushing Meadows later that year caught the attention of American fans, as she moved into the Top 100. Li had a further third round appearance at the Australian Open, and second round appearance at Roland Garros in 2021, though she was bundled out in the first round at both Wimbledon and the US Open this year.

2021 – THE YEAR THAT WAS IN THE BEGINNING

The talented American was on-song from the get-go, reaching the Grampians Trophy in Melbourne this year. Unfortunately for Li, the event was called off due to the timing and she shared the trophy with Estonian Anett Kontaveit, though did not count as an official title. She could take away Top 40 wins against Jennifer Brady and Veronika Kudermetova though, and rose to 69th in the world.

An unlucky third round opponent in seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka halted her run at the Australian Open after wins over Shuai Zhang and Alize Cornet, and this followed three more Top 100 wins, before a disappointing loss to Viktorija Golubic in Monterrey. Running into a red-hot Elina Svitolina, then back-to-back losses on the grass circuit saw Li hit a bit of a mid-year slump. A quarter final at Chicago’s WTA 125 event was okay, but three losses in her next five games continued the inconsistent form.

LI’S MAIDEN TITLE

Out of nowhere, Li produced the most consistent form of her year to win the Tenerife Ladies Open in October. The American dropped the first set of the tournament to Spanish wildcard Nuria Parrizas Diaz, then proceeded to win the next 10 consecutive sets to cruise to the title. Though not claiming a Top 50 win, she fought off a couple of other talented youngsters in Osorio Serrano and Varvara Gracheva along the way.

After winning at Tenerife, Li extended her streak to seven matches with back-to-back wins over Kamilla Rakhimova and Magdalena Frech at the Courmayeur Ladies Open in Italy. Her final tournament of the year, Li eventually went down to world number 49, Clara Tauson. Li was ranked 47th in the world by the end of 2021, and in a good position to crack into the Top 30 next year.

WHY IS SHE ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2022?

Still young, Li’s trajectory from junior talent to senior tennis player has been noticeable. She has done the hard yards and each year progressed into the next bracket of players. Now inside the Top 50, Li is destined to reach the Top 30 sometime next year if her form holds up, though she did not really have a chance to face the top-liners on Tour. If she can get her chance and continue to develop her game to the next level, then watch out as she tries to join her compatriots in the top echelon of players.