2017 Li reached her first junior major singles final in 2017 at
Wimbledon. In the first all-American girls' final since 1979, the unseeded Li lost to third seed
Claire Liu, in three sets. Two weeks later, Li won her first professional title on the
ITF Circuit, a $15k tournament in Evansville, Indiana.
2018 Li entered the
Lexington Challenger where she defeated
Renata Zarazúa,
Julia Glushko, Anastasia Nefedova,
Jessica Pegula, before losing to
Asia Muhammad, in straight sets. She participated at the
Landisville Challenge where she defeated former British No. 1,
Heather Watson, and Wimbledon finalist,
Sabine Lisicki, but lost to
Madison Brengle in the quarterfinals. In the
ITF Templeton Pro, she eliminated fellow wildcard Sophia Whittle but lost to
Sofya Zhuk. She tried to qualify for the
US Open but lost to
Marie Bouzková. She then entered an ITF event in Texas where she lost to
Naomi Broady. Her best result after the US Open was at
Stockton where she beat
Jovana Jakšić and
Lauren Davis, before yet again falling to Madison Brengle. In
Templeton, she won against
Nicole Gibbs before losing to
Hailey Baptiste.
2020: US Open third round, top 100 At the
Australian Open, Li played in the main-draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, after successfully navigating her way through the qualifying rounds. She advanced to the second round, where she lost to the eventual champion,
Sofia Kenin. Li reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career at the
US Open defeating 13th seed
Alison Riske en route, before her run was ended by 17th seed
Angelique Kerber. She reached the top-100 at world No. 97, on 9 November 2020. She also reached the second round at the
French Open on her debut at this major, at which point she lost to fifth seed
Elina Svitolina. Li won her maiden WTA Tour title at the
Tenerife Ladies Open, defeating
Camila Osorio in the final, in straight sets. With this title, her ranking rose into the
top-50 for the first time, reaching a new career-high of world No. 48, on 25 October 2021. In November, she was nominated on the list for the "2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year".
2022–2023: WTA 1000 third round At the
2022 Miami Open, Li reached the third round of a
WTA 1000 for the first time defeating third seed
Anett Kontaveit, before losing to Alison Riske. She made the second round at
Wimbledon in June 2022, overcoming
Lucia Bronzetti for her first win at this major. Li lost to
Marie Bouzková. Li qualified for the
2023 Cincinnati Open where she defeated
Magda Linette in the first round, before losing to second seed Aryna Sabalenka. She also made it through qualifying at the
Guadalajara Open, but lost in the first round of the main draw to
Sloane Stephens.
2024: First WTA 125 title, Mérida Open final She qualified for her first WTA 500 tournament since the
2022 Bad Homburg Open at the
San Diego Open, defeating
Kayla Day in the last round of qualifying but lost to eventual runner-up,
Marta Kostyuk, in the main-draw first round. In June, Li won her first
WTA 125 title at the
Open Internacional de Valencia, defeating top seed
Viktoriya Tomova in the final. The following month, she reached the quarterfinals in
Palermo with wins over third seed
Peyton Stearns, where she saved a match point, and
Erika Andreeva, before losing to
Irina-Camelia Begu. At the
Mérida Open, she defeated eighth seed
Nuria Parrizas-Diaz,
Antonia Ružić Jil Teichmann and
Polina Kudermetova to reach the final, which she lost to
Zeynep Sönmez in straight sets.
2025: Second WTA title, US Open fourth round Li reached the final at the
Singapore Open with wins over
Daria Saville, lucky loser
Maria Timofeeva, wildcard entrant
Kimberly Birrell and top seed
Anna Kalinskaya. She lost the championship match to second seed
Elise Mertens, in straight sets. At the
Madrid Open, she defeated qualifier
Aliaksandra Sasnovich and 25th seed
Leylah Fernandez to make it into the third round, where she lost to fourth seed
Coco Gauff. Li reached the quarterfinals at the
Morocco Open, overcoming lucky loser Maria Timofeeva and
Hailey Baptiste, before losing to eventual champion
Maya Joint. At the
French Open, she defeated qualifier
María Lourdes Carlé to set up a second round meeting with third seed
Jessica Pegula which she lost in straight sets. Li also made the second round at
Wimbledon with a win over
Viktorija Golubic, only to lose to 24th seed Elise Mertens. Seeded ninth at the
Prague Open, successes against qualifier
Astra Sharma and
Léolia Jeanjean saw her reach the quarterfinals, at which point her run was ended by fifth seed and eventual champion
Marie Bouzková in three sets. In August at
Tennis in Cleveland, Li defeated
Yuliia Starodubtseva,
Iva Jovic,
Elsa Jacquemot and second seed
Xinyu Wang to make it through to the final, which she lost to qualifier
Sorana Cîrstea. Li maintained her good form the following week at the
US Open where wins over
Rebecca Šramková, 16th seed
Belinda Bencic and qualifier
Priscilla Hon saw her reach the fourth round of a major for the first time, before her run was ended by fourth seed
Jessica Pegula in straight sets. Seeded second at the
Guangzhou Open in October, Li defeated lucky loser
Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva,
Camila Osorio and
Elisabetta Cocciaretto to make it through to the semifinals. She then progressed to the final when her last four opponent, wildcard entrant
Zhang Shuai, retired during the first set of their match due to a hip injury. In the championship match, Li defeated qualifier
Lulu Sun in straight sets to claim her second WTA title. As a result, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 33 on 27 October 2025.
2026: Rouen quarterfinal, Madrid fourth round In February at the WTA 1000
Qatar Open, Li defeated Leylah Fernandez and
Magdalena Fręch, before losing in the third round to lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a match lasting two hours and 55 minutes. Seeded fifth at the
Open de Rouen in April, she recorded wins over
Daria Kasatkina and
Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the quarterfinals, at which point her run was ended by top seed
Marta Kostyuk in three sets. At the
Madrid Open, Li received a bye as 31st seed and then defeated
Alycia Parks and world No. 4
Iga Swiatek, who retired due to illness while trailing in the third set, to make it through to the fourth round, where she lost to 24th seed Leylah Fernandez. ==Personal life==