The 21 & Under Club in '21: Ann Li

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.