Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Li Fang (tennis)

Li Fang
Country (sports) China
ResidenceHunan
Born (1973-01-01) 1 January 1973 (age 51)
Hengyang (Hunan Province)
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Turned pro1990
Retired2001
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$535,067
Singles
Career record265–133
Career titles0 WTA, 18 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 36 (8 June 1998)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1992)
French Open2R (1994)
Wimbledon2R (1994)
US Open2R (1999)
Doubles
Career record86–62
Career titles2 WTA, 8 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 49 (21 February 1994)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (1992)
French Open1R (1992)
Wimbledon1R (1992)
US Open2R (1992)
Team competitions
Fed Cup20–13

Li Fang (Chinese: 李芳; pinyin: Lǐ Fāng, born 1 January 1973) is a retired female tennis player from China. She is widely regarded as the first professional tennis player from China.[citation needed]

Li turned professional in 1990, and won two WTA doubles titles in her career. In singles, Li Fang reached three finals on the WTA tour (Hobart 1995, Makarska and Pattaya in 1998), losing all of them. She represented her country at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Li played seven years on the China Fed Cup team. She retired in 2001.

Personal

Li Fang was born in Hengyang in Hunan province to father Li Jianmin and mother Zhou Shanglian. As of 2014, Li Fang runs a tennis academy in Frisco, Texas.

WTA Tour career finals

Legend
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (1)
Tier IV (4)

Singles: 3 runner-up

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. Jan 1995 Hobart International Hard Georgia (country) Leila Meskhi 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. Apr 1998 Makarska International Championships Clay Czech Republic Květa Hrdličková 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up 3. Nov 1998 PTT Pattaya Open Hard France Julie Halard-Decugis 1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 2 titles

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents Score
Winner 1. Jul 1993 Austrian Open, Kitzbühel Clay Belgium Dominique Monami Croatia Maja Murić
Czech Republic Pavlína Rajzlová
6–2, 6–1
Winner 2. Feb 1994 China Open, Beijing Hard (i) China Chen Li-Ling Australia Kerry-Anne Guse
United Kingdom Valda Lake
6–0, 6–2

ITF finals

Singles (18–6)

$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 12 March 1990 Murcia, Spain Clay Italy Sabrina Lucchi 6–2, 7–5
Winner 2. 9 July 1990 Fayetteville, United States Hard South Korea Im Sook-ja 6–1, 1–6, 6–3
Runner-up 3. 4 March 1991 Granada, Spain Clay Germany Isabel Cueto 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. 11 March 1991 Murcia, Spain Hard Spain Maite Martínez 6–7, 7–5, 3–6
Winner 5. 25 March 1991 Bilbao, Spain Hard Spain Estefania Bottini 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 6. 29 April 1991 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hard Chinese Taipei Wang Shi-ting 4–6, 2–6
Winner 7. 29 July 1991 Acireale, Italy Clay Czech Republic Jana Pospíšilová 6–0, 7–5
Winner 8. 5 August 1991 Nicolosi, Italy Hard United States Kylie Johnson 6–2, 6–4
Winner 9. 2 September 1991 Bangkok, Thailand Hard Hong Kong Tang Min 7–5, 6–2
Winner 10. 9 September 1991 Bangkok, Thailand Hard Hong Kong Tang Min 6–0, 7–6(8–6)
Winner 11. 23 September 1991 Kuroshio, Japan Hard Japan Naoko Kijimuta 6–3, 6–4
Winner 12. 7 October 1991 Matsuyama, Japan Hard China Chen Li-Ling 6–4, 6–3
Winner 13. 14 October 1991 Kyoto, Japan Hard Japan Hiromi Yoshihara 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Winner 14. 21 October 1991 Oita, Japan Hard Australia Kristine Kunce 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 15. 28 October 1991 Saga, Japan Grass Japan Ei Iida 3–6, 3–6
Winner 16. 6 April 1997 Phoenix, United States Hard Puerto Rico Kristina Brandi 6–1, 6–2
Winner 17. 20 April 1997 Wichita, United States Hard United States Sandra Cacic 6–2, 6–2
Winner 18. 6 July 1997 Flushing, United States Hard United States Lindsay Lee-Waters 7–5, 7–5
Winner 19. 4 August 1997 Wichita, United States Hard Italy Laura Golarsa 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 20. 13 July 1998 Mahwah, United States Hard United States Amy Frazier w/o
Winner 21. 21 June 1999 Vaihingen, Germany Clay Austria Patricia Wartusch 6–4, 7–6
Runner-up 22. 1 August 1999 Salt Lake City, United States Hard Puerto Rico Kristina Brandi 4–6, 3–6
Winner 23. 19 September 1999 Hopewel, United States Hard Canada Jana Nejedly 6–0, 6–4
Winner 24. 26 September 1999 Kirkland, United States Hard China Yi Jing-Qian 6–3, 2–6, 6–1

Doubles (8–5)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 7 May 1990 Manila, Philippines Hard China Chen Li-Ling China Lin Ning
China Tang Min
6–3, 6–0
Winner 2. 29 April 1991 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hard China Tang Min Indonesia Tanti Trayono
Indonesia Agustina Wibisono
7–5, 6–3
Winner 3. 6 May 1991 Manila, Philippines Hard China Tang Min Indonesia Irawati Moerid
Indonesia Lukky Tedjamukti
7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–3)
Winner 4. 5 August 1991 Nicolosi, Italy Hard China Tang Min Italy Gabriella Boschiero
United States Kylie Johnson
6–0, 7–6(7–3)
Winner 5. 2 September 1991 Bangkok, Thailand Hard China Tang Min Thailand Suvimol Duangchan
Thailand Benjamas Sangaram
6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 6. 9 September 1991 Bangkok, Thailand Hard China Tang Min Indonesia Irawati Moerid
Indonesia Lukky Tedjamukti
6–4, 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up 7. 23 September 1991 Kuroshio, Japan Hard China Tang Min Japan Naoko Kinoshita
Japan Emiko Takahashi
7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 8. 30 September 1991 Hokkaido, Japan Hard China Tang Min Japan Yukie Koizumi
Japan Miki Mizokuchi
1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Winner 9. 14 October 1991 Kyoto, Japan Hard China Tang Min United States Diana Gardner
Hong Kong Paulette Moreno
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 10. 30 September 1991 Saga, Japan Grass China Tang Min Mexico Lupita Novelo
Australia Kristine Kunce
7–5, 2–6, 5–7
Winner 11. 4 September 1995 Tianjin, China Hard China Chen Li-Ling Germany Kirstin Freye
South Africa Tessa Price
6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 12. 6 July 1997 Flushing, United States Hard United States Keri Phebus Chinese Taipei Janet Lee
United States Lindsay Lee-Waters
2–6, 6–2, 3–6
Winner 13. 19 September 1999 Hopewel, United States Hard Russia Alina Jidkova United States Dawn Buth
South Africa Kim Grant
6–3, 6–3

See also

References