Xu was among the most successful of a number of Chinese-born female players who emigrated from their badminton-rich homeland, in part, for a better opportunity to play in the world's biggest events. Beginning in 2003 when she won a spate of middle tier open tournaments in Europe, Xu went on to become one of the more consistent performers on the international circuit. She was a women's singles bronze medalist twice at the
BWF World Championships (
2005 and
2006) and won
European Championships in
2006 and
2008 over
Mia Audina and
Tine Rasmussen respectively in the finals. At the
2008 Beijing Olympics Xu was eliminated in a close quarterfinal match by China's
Xie Xingfang, the world's number one ranked player. Among Xu's more than twenty national and international singles titles are the
Scottish (2003),
Polish (2003),
Dutch (2005), and
Swiss (2006) Opens, the
Copenhagen Masters (2007), and five consecutive (2004–2008)
German National Championships. Notably, she earned all of these titles after turning 27, an age at which world level singles players often feel that their best years are behind them. Xu retired from playing on the international circuit in 2009 and worked as a coach for two years at the Bellevue Badminton Club near
Seattle, teaching the Junior National team of young badminton players hoping to succeed in professional badminton. In 2010, she was appointed as an
International Olympic Committee athlete role model for the
2010 Summer Youth Olympics. From 2011 to 2012, she served the Dutch Badminton Association as their National Coach. ==Personal life==