Date of Birth February 26, 1982
Birthplace Wuhan, Hubei, China
Height 5'7 3/4'' (1.72 m)
Weight 137 lbs. (62 kg)
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status Pro (1999)
Current Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings - As of 8/29/2005
Singles 40
Porsche Race - Singles 57
Doubles 348
WTA Ranking History
Season-Ending Singles 2004-80; 2002-277; 2001-303; 2000-134; 1999-363
Career-High Singles No. 33 (May 9, 2005)
Career-High Doubles No. 85 (October 23, 2000)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
SINGLES
Winner (1 WTA Tour): 2004 - Guangzhou, ITF/Beijing-CHN, ITF/Tongliao-CHN, ITF/Wulanhaote-CHN, ITF/Beijing-CHN, ITF/Shenzhen 1-CHN; 2001 - ITF/Ho Chi Minh City-VIE; 2000 - ITF/Boca Raton-USA, ITF/Nanjing-CHN, ITF/Nanjing 2-CHN, ITF/Shenyang-CHN, ITF/Dahlian-CHN, ITF/Seoul-KOR, ITF/Ho Chi Minh-VIE, ITF/Civitanova-ITA; 1999 - ITF/Shenzhen-CHN, ITF/Shenzhen 2-CHN; ITF/Westend-BEL.
Finalist (1): 2005 - Estoril.
Semifinalist (2): 2005 - Hobart, Rabat.
DOUBLES
Winner (1): 2000 - Tashkent (w/T. Li).
Semifinalist (2): 2005 - Rabat (w/Pratt); 2000 - Shanghai (w/T. Li).
ADDITIONAL
Chinese Fed Cup team 2002, 2005. Chinese Olympic Team 2000.
CAREER IN REVIEW
1999 - Won second, third and fourth pro events of career (unranked in second and third), all ITF events; the first two were in Shenzhen (CHN), d. Chung in both finals (also swept doubles titles at both events); the next event came two months later, in Westend (BEL), d. Van de Zande for the title; won seven straight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit, beginning with the first event of her career in June and ending in Sept.; enjoyed same kind of domination again in 2000
2000 - Won 52 singles matches on the ITF Circuit, more than any other player; won 56 pro matches overall, including WTA Tour wins; tied for third among all players; debuted on WTA Tour at 2000 Tashkent, ranked No. 136 in singles, fell to Zaporozhanova 06 64 61 in 1r; ranked No. 293 in doubles, won doubles title with T. Li; first WTA Tour singles match-in came at Shanghai; as world No. 137, d. fellow countrywoman Yi, when she was forced to ret. at 76(6) 43; fell to Tanasugarn 75 61 in 2r; began year winning a title in Jan., ITF/Boca Raton-USA; two months later began a tear through four straight ITF tournaments, the first two in Nanjing (CHN), the next two in Shenyang (CHN) and Dahlian (CHN); then tore through two more back-to-back in May, ITF/Seoul-KOR and ITF/Ho Chi Minh-VIE to amass her sixth and seventh titles in a five-month span; in July won her eighth ITF title of 2000 at ITF/Civitanova-ITA
2002 - As a world No. 308 qualifier, won $75K ITF/Midland-USA, winning a total of eight matches, dropping only three sets, upsetting the top seed in qualifying, and d. five higher-ranked players en route to title, her 13th ITF singles title; in a Fed Cup World Group playoff versus Russia, l. a singles match in China's loss
2004 - First Top 100 finish in 51-4 season highlighted by historic debut Tour singles title; as world No.145 qualifier at Guangzhou, d. No.2 seed and world No.36 Jankovic 06 62 76(6) in 2r for career-best win, then d. Sucha 63 64 in final to become first Chinese woman to win a Tour singles title and third qualifier to win a title in 2004; afterwards (October 4), made Top 100 debut at No.92; a week earlier in Beijing 2r, saved 3 mp in second set and held 2 mp in third set vs. world No.5 US Open champion Kuznetsova before falling 63 67(6) 76(3); also won five titles on ITF Circuit in China, incl. four straight to start season as part of 28-match win streak; reached career-high No.80 on November 8
2005 IN DETAIL
JANUARY - Opened season in Gold Coast, defeating Garbin before suffering second round loss to top seed Petrova; reached second career Tour SF at Hobart, upsetting top seed and defending champion Frazier in 1r and also scoring wins against Dellacqua and Domachowska before losing to countrywoman and eventual winner Zheng in SF; made Grand Slam debut at Australian Open, defeating Granville in 1r and No.28 seed Asagoe in 2r before falling to No.4 seed Sharapova in 3r.
FEBRUARY - As top seed at Hyderabad, reached QF with victories against Mikaelian and Salerni before falling in straight sets to No.8 seed Kirilenko; as qualifier in Doha, fell to No.5 seed Schnyder in 1r; moves to career-best No.46 ranking on February 28.
MARCH - Needed three sets to defeat Sugiyama as qualifier in 1r at Dubai, but fell to No.8 seed Schnyder in next round; breaks into Top 40 for first time in singles rankings at No.39 (March 7).
APRIL - As No.4 seed at Estoril, reached second career Tour final, defeating Cohen-Aloro, Pratt, No.6 seed Randriantefy and No.2 seed Safina before three-set loss to qualifier Safarova in championship match; on May 2, moves to No.35 in rankings, becoming highest-ranked Chinese player in history of WTA Tour; went undefeated in Fed Cup match play to help China advance to World Group II Playoffs.
MAY - As top seed in Rabat, reached SF before having to retire midway through first set against No.6 seed Zheng due to right ankle sprain; had defeated Pratt, qualifier Dokic and An.Serra Zanetti to reach SF; also reached SF in doubles at Rabat (w/Pratt); continues climb on May 9 rankings, moving to new career-best of No.33; withdrew from scheduled appearance in Strasbourg and Roland Garros due to right ankle sprain.
AUGUST - Returned to action at Los Angeles, falling to No.16 seed Chakvetadze in 1r; reached 3r at Toronto, defeating No.11 seed Jankovic, followed by Vento-Kabchi before suffering right ankle sprain in 2nd set of 3r match vs. No.6 seed Petrova.
PERSONAL
Introduced to the game at age 8, after playing badminton for two years...Not currently working with a full-time coach...Prefers hard courts...Mother, Yan-Ping, is an accountant...Favorite colors are white and black...Preferred beverage is juice...Other sport interest is in swimming...Hobby is reading...Likes to visit Beijing...Most memorable experience was winning her first title at the 1998 Asian Youth Cup in Japan...In tennis community, admires Andre Agassi...coached by Jiang Hong Wei
(wtatour.com)
