Date of Birth July 5, 1983
Birthplace Cheng Du, Si Chuan, China
Height 5'4 1/2'' (1.64 m)
Weight 126 lbs. (57 kg)
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status Pro (Jan. 16, 2003)
Current Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings - As of 8/29/2005
Singles 56
Porsche Race - Singles 52
Doubles 49
WTA Ranking History
Season-Ending Singles 2004-67; 2003-94; 2002-183; 2001-457; 2000-786
Career-High Singles No. 48 (June 14, 2004)
Career-High Doubles No. 29 (January 17, 2005)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
SINGLES
Winner (1 WTA Tour): 2005 - Hobart; 2004 - ITFBeijing 3-CHN; 2003 - ITF/Bronx-USA, ITF/Paducah-USA; 2002 - ITF/Shanghai-CHN, ITF/Tianjin 1-CHN.
Finalist (1): 2005 - Rabat.
Semifinalist (1): 2003 - Tokyo [Japan Open].
Quarterfinalist (5): 2005 - Estoril, New Haven; 2004 - Hyderabad, Doha; 2003 - Quebec City.
DOUBLES
Winner (2): 2005 - Hobart (w/Yan), Hyderabad (w/Yan), ITF/Beijing-CHN (w/Yan).
Finalist (1): 2003 - Vienna (w/Yan).
Semifinalist (8): 2005 - Dubai (w/Yan); 2004 - Hyderabad (w/Yan), Birmingham (w/Yan), Guangzhou (w/Yan); 2003 - Shanghai (w/Yan), Tokyo [Japan Open] (w/Yan), Quebec City (w/Yan); 2002 - Vienna (w/Yan).
ADDITIONAL
Chinese Fed Cup Team 2003, 2005. Chinese Olympic Team 2004.
CAREER IN REVIEW
2000 - First event was ITF/Dalian-CHN (reached 2r); two events later, reached ITF/Hangzhou-CHN finals in singles and doubles (w/Yan), dropping only one set and eliminating the No. 7 and No. 1 seeds in singles; appeared on WTA Rankings on September 18 at No. 802
2001 - Started season by reaching ITF/Hangzhou-CHN SF as a qualifier; two events later, at ITF/Hohhot-CHN, reached second singles final and won doubles (first pro title) w/Yan; contested first Tour qualifying at Shanghai
2002 - Won first two singles titles back-to-back, ITF/Shanghai-CHN and ITF/Tianjin 1-CHN; made Tour debut at Shanghai, reaching 2r; won eight ITF Circuit doubles titles
2003 - First Top 100 finish; reached final at ITF/Redding-USA; at Vienna, reached first Tour doubles final (w/Yan); won ITF/Bronx-USA; at Tokyo [Japan Open], as world No. 122, reached career-first Tour SF in singles, d. world No. 30 Tanasugarn for best-career win to date; broke into Top 100 on October 6 at No. 98; swept singles and doubles (w/Yan) at ITF/Paducah-USA; as world No. 96 at Quebec City, reached QF; on November 3, reached career-high No. 94
2004 - Best career finish; reached QF at Hyderabad (l. to Tanasugarn) and Doha (career-best win vs. No.15 Dokic 64 61 en route, l. to No.7 Myskina 62 75); became first Chinese woman to reach a Grand Slam 4r as world No.58 at Roland Garros, d. No.31 seed Loit in 2s in 2r, No.86 Garbin (conqueror of defending champion and world No.1 Henin-Hardenne) 57 76(1) 62 in 3r (l. to eventual semifinalist No.14 seed Suarez 64 75); afterwards (June 7) made Top 50 debut at No.49, becoming first Chinese woman in Top 50 since Li Fang (April 1999) and a week later on June 14 reached career-high No.48; l. in 1r at Olympics; made Grand Slam debut at Australian Open and played at all four majors for first time; in doubles (w/Yan), reached QF at Australian Open (d. No.5 seeds Black/Stubbs en route, l. to eventual finalists Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva) and Olympics (l. to eventual silver medalists C.Martinez/Ruano Pascual), and on September 27 reached career-high No.32 in doubles
2005 IN DETAIL
JANUARY - Suffered loss in first match of season to top seed Petrova at Gold Coast; captured first career WTA Tour title at Hobart, defeating No.2 seed Dulko in final, 62 60; with title, became just the second Chinese woman to win a Tour singles title, following Li Na's win in Guangzhou, China in October 2004; as top seeds in doubles (w/Yan), also captured first career doubles title, defeating No.2 seeds Medina Garrigues/Safina in final; moved 23 spots in singles rankings by winning title; failed to captalize on new-title success, falling in 1r at Australian Open (l. to Safina).
FEBRUARY - As No.4 seed at Hyderabad, won 1r match versus Voskoboeva before loss to Mirza in next round; captured second doubles title of season with Yan at Hyderabad, defeating No.2 seeded countrywomen Li/Sun in championship match.
MARCH - Reached main draw at Dubai as qualifier, defeating Medina Garrigues in 1r before loss to top seed Davenport in 2r; reached SF in doubles at Dubai (w/Zheng).
APRIL - As No.9 seed at Estoril, defeated qualifiers Nagyova and Muller to reach QF before loss to No.3 seed Dulko in next match; went undefeated in Fed Cup match play to help China advance to World Group II Playoffs.
MAY - Reached second final of 2005 as No.6 seed in Rabat, falling to No.2 seed Llagostera Vives in championship match, 64 62; defeated Castano, Drake, No.4 seed Garbin and reached final when top seed Na Li retired midway through first set of SF match with right ankle sprain; defeated Rubin in 1r at Strasbourg, but fell to No.6 seed Sprem in 2r; at Roland Garros, lost to No.22 seed Schiavone in 1r.
JUNE - Won doubles title (w/Yan) at $50K ITF/Beijing-CHN.
AUGUST - Reached 2r at Los Angeles by defeating No.11 seed Asagoe in 1r before falling to qualifier K.Bondarenko in next round; as qualifier in Toronto, defeated qualifier Salerni in 1r and No.17 seed Sugiyama to reach 3r before falling to No.4 seed Henin-Hardenne; gained entry into main draw as lucky loser after withdrawal from No.5 seed Petrova and was awarded first round bye, followed by victory vs. qualifier Jackson to reach QF before loss to Chakvetadze.
PERSONAL
Coached by Chen Li...First memory of tennis was watching a match between Graf and Seles; older sister started playing first, which influenced Jie to take up the game at 10; favorite shot is backhand...Parents are Shu Kai Zheng and Zhi Bin Lei...Graduated from Si Chuan Sports Academy in June 2000...Favorite color is blue, favorite flowers are roses and favorite cuisine is Chinese...Other sports include golf, table tennis and badminton...Admires parents and grandparents.
(wtatour.com)
