Yan Zi

Yan Zi, born on May 16, 1984, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. She participated in her first competition at the age of six, finishing in fourth place against middle school students older than herself. Starting in 1990, she began tennis training under coach Cai Hongling.

In 1998, Yan Zi joined the Sichuan Provincial Tennis Team, coached by Chen Yuwen. That same year, she won the singles runner-up at the National Youth Circuit Finals. Also in 1998, she went to the Nick Tennis School in the United States for six months of training. In 2000, she represented the national youth team at the World Junior Cup and won the singles title at a national youth circuit tournament. That year, she was selected for the national training camp, coached by Chen Li and Wang Liangzuo.

In 2001, Yan Zi reached the top eight at the International Women's Challenge (Hangzhou stage). In 2002, she won seven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In 2003, she secured five doubles titles. In 2004, she advanced to the top eight in doubles at the Australian Open and reached the fourth round in doubles at Wimbledon.

In 2005, she won the singles title at the WTA International Guangzhou Open. The following year, she achieved doubles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the German Open, including doubles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the German Open. She also reached the doubles semifinals at Wimbledon and the WTA Finals. In 2007, she had excellent results at Wimbledon and other WTA tournaments, reaching the semifinals at the Rogers Cup and defeating several top players.

In 2008, Yan Zi won the doubles title at the Sydney International. That same year, she reached the doubles semifinals at the Australian Open and won doubles titles at Wimbledon, the Beijing Olympics, and secured a bronze medal. In 2009, she advanced repeatedly in Grand Slam tournaments, notably reaching the doubles semifinals at the China Open with Zheng Jie, before announcing her retirement.

Throughout her career, Yan Zi’s highest singles ATP ranking was No. 40 in 2008. She also received numerous domestic and international honors, including doubles titles at the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon, and a doubles bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In her personal life, she met Li Shenggen in 2006, and after some time of dating, they married in Shenzhen in 2009. In 2012, her daughter, Li Xingmeng, was born. In 2013, Yan Zi officially returned to professional tennis to compete in the 12th National Games, but she later announced her second retirement.

Yan Zi served as a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, during which she proposed multiple initiatives related to education and public policy in 2011. She has also been a brand ambassador for Li Ning and actively participates in charitable activities.