TENNIS PLAYERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Chinese Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Tennis Players.

1. Peng Shuai (1986 - )

With an HPI of 50.61, Peng Shuai is the most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Peng Shuai (Chinese: 彭帅; pinyin: Péng Shuài; Mandarin pronunciation: [pʰə̌ŋ ʂwâɪ] ; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked as the world No. 1 doubles player by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking in any discipline. She peaked at world No. 14 of the singles rankings in August 2011, and won two singles and 23 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Peng won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the singles final. At the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Peng won her first major title, in women's doubles with Hsieh Su-wei. She also won the women's doubles title at the 2014 French Open with Hsieh. Her best performance at a major in singles came at the 2014 US Open where she reached the semifinals, becoming the third Chinese tennis player in history to reach a major semifinal after Zheng Jie and Li Na. Peng was known for playing with two hands on both sides and hitting very flat. She defeated many top-10 and top-5 players, including Kim Clijsters, Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Janković, Agnieszka Radwańska, Marion Bartoli, and Vera Zvonareva. In November 2021, in what was suspected to be a forced disappearance, Peng disappeared from public after making a post on Weibo. It detailed an affair involving Zhang Gaoli, a retired Chinese Vice Premier, who reportedly forced her to have sex with him. The news became widely censored in China. International concerns for Peng grew, and the WTA suspended all its events in the country. Peng has made some limited public appearances since the incident and announced her retirement from professional tennis. Although unsatisfied with the case, the WTA announced that it would return to China in 2023.

2. Li Na (1982 - )

With an HPI of 43.98, Li Na is the 2nd most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 62 different languages.

Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 2 on 17 February 2014. Over the course of her career, Li won nine singles titles including two Grand Slam titles at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. Those victories made her the first Grand Slam singles champion from Asia, male or female. She also became the first player representing an Asian country to appear in a Grand Slam singles final, finishing as the runner-up at the 2011 Australian Open. Li was also the runner-up at the 2013 Australian Open and 2013 WTA Tour Championships, a three-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and a semifinalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2013 US Open. Among her other most notable achievements, she was the first Chinese player to win a WTA Tour title at the Guangzhou International Women's Open in 2004, the first to reach a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, and the first to break into the world's top ten. By 2013, Li's accomplishments had made her the most successful Asian tennis player in history and it landed her on Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People in the World as just one of only four athletes to be named that year. Former world No. 1 Chris Evert wrote: "Tennis has exploded in China. The country now has some 15 million tennis players; 116 million watched Li win the French Open. That kind of exposure is crucial to our sport, and it never would have happened without Li." Li retired from professional tennis on 19 September 2014, at the age of 32. In 2019, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

3. Zheng Jie (1983 - )

With an HPI of 36.92, Zheng Jie is the 3rd most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15. Zheng is one of China's most successful tennis players. She won four singles titles on the WTA Tour – Hobart in 2005, Estoril, Stockholm in 2006, and Auckland in 2012. She also won 15 career doubles titles, eleven of them with Yan Zi, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006. She won the bronze medal in doubles with Yan Zi at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her career-high doubles ranking is world No. 3. Zheng reached the singles semifinals at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, where she defeated world No. 1, Ana Ivanovic, in the process, becoming the first Chinese player to advance to the semifinals at a major tournament. She also reached the semifinals of the 2010 Australian Open.

4. Yan Zi (1984 - )

With an HPI of 34.22, Yan Zi is the 4th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Yan Zi (Chinese: 晏紫; born 12 November 1984) is a retired Chinese-Hong Kong tennis player.

5. Sun Tiantian (1981 - )

With an HPI of 32.52, Sun Tiantian is the 5th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Sun Tiantian (Chinese: 孙甜甜; pinyin: Sūn Tiántián; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n tʰjɛ̌n tʰjɛ̌n]; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting. Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 77 in March 2007, winning her only WTA Tour singles title at the 2006 Tashkent Open, and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 16 in October 2007, winning eleven WTA titles and reaching the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam women's doubles tournaments, and winning the mixed doubles event at the 2008 Australian Open alongside Nenad Zimonjić.

6. Zhang Shuai (1989 - )

With an HPI of 32.43, Zhang Shuai is the 6th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Zhang Shuai (Chinese: 张帅; pinyin: Zhāng Shuài; Mandarin pronunciation: [ʈʂáŋ ʂwâɪ] ; born 21 January 1989) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She is a two-time major champion in women's doubles, having won the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Samantha Stosur. Zhang also finished runner-up at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships with Elise Mertens, and has reached four further major semifinals across women's and mixed doubles. She has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 2, achieved in July 2022, and has won 12 titles on the WTA Tour, including the 2021 Cincinnati Open with Stosur. Zhang has also qualified for the WTA Finals on two occasions. She has also enjoyed success in singles, and reached her highest ranking of world No. 22 in January 2023. Zhang has won three WTA Tour singles titles, at the Guangzhou International in 2013 and 2017, and the 2022 Lyon Open, and finished runner-up at three further tournaments. She has reached two major quarterfinals, at the 2016 Australian Open and 2019 Wimbledon Championships. Alongside Li Na, Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai, Wang Qiang and Zheng Qinwen, Zhang is one of only six Chinese tennis players to have reached this stage at a Grand Slam. She has represented China in the Billie Jean King Cup since 2009, and also competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

7. Li Ting (1980 - )

With an HPI of 32.37, Li Ting is the 7th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Li Ting (Chinese: 李婷; pinyin: Lǐ Tíng; born 5 January 1980) is a Chinese tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles alongside Sun Tiantian.

8. Zheng Saisai (1994 - )

With an HPI of 27.90, Zheng Saisai is the 8th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Zheng Saisai or Zheng Sai-Sai (Chinese: 郑赛赛; born February 5, 1994) is a Chinese tennis player. On 2 March 2020, she achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 34. On 11 July 2016, she peaked at No. 15 in the doubles rankings. In her career, she won one WTA Tour singles title in 2019 (at the Premier event in Silicon Valley), and five WTA doubles titles. She also reached the final of the 2019 French Open in doubles with compatriot Duan Yingying, and won three singles and three WTA 125 doubles titles, as well as twelve singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Playing for China Fed Cup team, Zheng has a win–loss record of 11–7 as of March 2024.

9. Wang Qiang (1992 - )

With an HPI of 27.34, Wang Qiang is the 9th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Wang Qiang (Chinese: 王蔷; pinyin: Wáng Qiáng; Mandarin pronunciation: [wǎŋ tɕʰjǎŋ]; born 14 January 1992) is an inactive Chinese tennis player. She has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, one WTA 125 singles title, and 13 singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit. Her best performance at a major tournament came at the 2019 US Open where she reached the quarterfinals. On 9 September 2019, Wang reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 12, becoming the second-highest ranked Chinese tennis player in history after Li Na. Alongside Li Na, Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai, Zhang Shuai and Zheng Qinwen, Wang is one of only six Chinese tennis players to have reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

10. Wang Yafan (1994 - )

With an HPI of 25.07, Wang Yafan is the 10th most famous Chinese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Wang Yafan (Chinese: 王雅繁; pinyin: Wáng Yǎfán; Mandarin pronunciation: [wǎŋ jà fǎn]; born 30 April 1994) is a Chinese tennis player. On 7 October 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 47. She peaked at No. 49 in the doubles rankings on 15 February 2016. In her career, she has won one singles title and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, along with one singles title and four doubles titles on the Challenger Tour. In addition, she won 16 singles and seven doubles tournaments on the ITF Circuit. Playing for the China Fed Cup team, Wang has a win–loss record of 9–2, as of June 2023.