Claire Liu (born May 25, 2000) is an American professional tennis player. On 30 January 2023, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 52 by the WTA.

Claire Liu
Liu at the 2023 US Open
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceThousand Oaks, California
Born (2000-05-25) May 25, 2000 (age 24)
Thousand Oaks
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,127,667
Singles
Career record229–166 (58.0%)
Career titles1 WTA Challenger
Highest rankingNo. 52 (January 30, 2023)
Current rankingNo. 116 (April 1, 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2023)
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon2R (2018, 2021, 2022)
US Open2R (2018)
Doubles
Career record28–28 (50.0%)
Career titles1 WTA Challenger
Highest rankingNo. 257 (January 30, 2023)
Current rankingNo. 292 (June 17, 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2023)
US Open1R (2017, 2021, 2022)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open1R (2015)
Last updated on: June 23, 2024.
Claire Liu
Simplified Chinese刘婧文
Traditional Chinese劉婧文

Liu has won one singles title and one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as six titles in singles and one doubles title in tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit.

In 2017, she was the world No. 1 in the junior rankings, after winning the Wimbledon girls' singles title, and finishing runner-up at the French Open. Liu also won a junior Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon with Usue Arconada in 2016.

Personal life

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Claire grew up in Thousand Oaks, California. Both her parents are Chinese immigrants.[1] In 2023, Claire began maintaining a blog that accounts her experiences on the professional tennis tour and personal life. [2]

Career

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Juniors

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Grand Slam results - Singles:

  • Australian Open: –
  • French Open: F (2017)
  • Wimbledon: W (2017)
  • US Open: 2R (2013, 2016)

Grand Slam results - Doubles:

  • Australian Open: –
  • French Open: QF (2017)
  • Wimbledon: W (2016)
  • US Open: QF (2016)

Liu won the Wimbledon junior doubles tournament in 2016 with fellow American Usue Maitane Arconada, defeating Mariam Bolkvadze and Caty McNally in the final, in straight sets. The following year, after losing the French Open junior final to Whitney Osuigwe, she came back to win the Wimbledon singles title against Ann Li, making her the first American girl to win the event since Chanda Rubin in 1992.[3] With this Grand Slam success, Liu rose to world No. 1 in the girls' junior rankings.

2015: First professional title, mixed doubles major debut

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She won her first professional title in March 2015, at an Orlando clay-court tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit.[4] At age 14, Liu was the youngest tennis player to win a professional tournament since Anna Kournikova in 1996.[5]

On her debut at the US Open, Liu was granted a wildcard into the qualifying tournament. She beat Verónica Cepede Royg and ninth seed Jana Čepelová in her first two matches, before losing to the 26th seed, Alexandra Panova, in the final round. Liu, alongside Taylor Fritz, was also given a wildcard for the mixed-doubles draw; they were defeated in the first round by the fourth seeds and eventual champions, Martina Hingis and Leander Paes.

2017: Grand Slam debut in singles and doubles

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After securing two ITF tournament wins in 2017, Liu was granted again a wildcard into the qualifying for the US Open. She defeated all three of her opponents in the qualifying tournament, earning her a spot in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam championship for the first time.[6] There, she was defeated in the first round, in straight sets by Duan Yingying.

In their doubles main-draw debut at a major, Liu and Taylor Johnson lost in the first round of the US Open.[7]

2018: First Grand Slam match win

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At the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, Liu advanced to the main draw by winning all of her qualifying matches. She lost in the second round to the eventual champion Angelique Kerber.[8] Liu was the only player in the tournament to win a set against Kerber.[9]

2019–2021: Top 100 debut

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In October 2019, Liu won her fourth title on the ITF Circuit at a $25k tournament in Florence, South Carolina.[10] After finishing as a runner-up in two tournaments in 2020 and another two in 2021, Liu won consecutive tournaments in May 2021 at a $60k tournament in Charlottesville, Virginia[11] and a $100k tournament in Charleston.[12] As a result, she entered the top 100 on 23 August 2021.

2022: Maiden Tour final, top 60 year-end ranking

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In May, she reached her maiden WTA Tour final in Rabat, losing to Martina Trevisan who was also a first-time Tour tournament finalist.[13] As a result, she reached the top 75 on 23 May 2022.

2023–2024: WTA 1000 third round

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She reached the third round of a WTA 1000 for the first time at the Miami Open defeating Kateřina Siniaková by retirement and lucky loser Julia Grabher before she lost to 25th seed Martina Trevisan.

She qualified for the 2024 Miami Open and defeated Petra Martić, before losing to tenth seed Daria Kasatkina by retiring.

She also qualified for the 2024 Charleston Open but lost to wildcard Shelby Rogers.

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record; .
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[14]

Singles

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Current through the 2023 Tunis Open.

Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A Q1 A Q2 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
French Open A A A Q2 Q1 A Q2 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Wimbledon A A A 2R Q1 NH 2R 2R 1R 0 / 4 3–4 43%
US Open Q3 A 1R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 6 1–6 14%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–4 2–4 0 / 14 6–14 30%
WTA 1000
Qatar Open[a] A A A A A A A Q2 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Dubai[a] A A A A A A A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Indian Wells Open A A Q1 1R Q1 NH 1R 2R 2R 0 / 4 2–4 33%
Miami Open A Q1 A 2R A NH Q1 Q1 3R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Madrid Open A A A A A NH A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A A A A A A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Canadian Open A A A A A NH A 1R A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati Open A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Guadalajara Open NH A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wuhan Open A A A Q1 A NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
China Open A A A A A NH Q2 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–2 4–5 0 / 10 6–10 38%
Career statistics
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SR W–L Win%
Tournaments 0 0 2 7 0 1 5 15 20 Career total: 50
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Career total: 1
Hard win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–2 2–4 0–0 0–1 1–3 8–10 9–13 0 / 33 20–33 38%
Clay win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 5–3 5–5 0 / 11 13–11 54%
Grass win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–2 0 / 6 3–6 33%
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–2 5–7 0–0 0–1 3–5 14–15 14–20 0 / 50 36–50 42%
Year-end ranking 566 670 263 138 333 222 94 60 94 $1,916,181

Doubles

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Current through the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Tournament 2017 2018 ... 2021 2022 2023 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
French Open A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open 1R A 1R 1R 0 / 3 0–3 0%
Win–loss 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 0 / 4 1–4 20%
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 1 2 1 1 Career total: 6
Overall Win-loss 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0 / 6 2–5 29%
Year-end ranking[b] 933 629 467 403

WTA Tour finals

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Singles: 1 (runner-up)

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Legend
Grand Slam
WTA 1000
WTA 500
WTA 250 (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 May 2022 Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco WTA 250 Clay   Martina Trevisan 2–6, 1–6

WTA Challenger finals

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Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 2022 Clarins Open Paris, France Clay   Beatriz Haddad Maia 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Aug 2023 Chicago Challenger, United States Hard   Viktoriya Tomova 1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2022 Veneto Open,
Italy
Grass   Madison Brengle   Vitalia Diatchenko
  Oksana Kalashnikova
6–4, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Aug 2023 Golden Gate Open,
US
Hard   Hailey Baptiste   Jodie Burrage
  Olivia Gadecki
6–7(4–7), 7–6(8–6), [8–10]

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles: 11 (7 titles, 4 runner–ups)

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Legend
$100,000 tournaments (1–1)
$60,000 tournaments (2–0)
$25,000 tournaments (3–3)
$10,000 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–4)
Clay (7–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Mar 2015 ITF Orlando, United States 10,000 Clay   Fanny Stollár 6–1, 6–3
Win 2–0 May 2017 ITF Naples, United States 25,000 Clay   Danielle Collins 6–3, 6–1
Win 3–0 May 2017 ITF Caserta, Italy 25,000 Clay   Paula Badosa 6–3, 6–3
Win 4–0 Oct 2019 ITF Florence, US 25,000 Clay   Peyton Stearns 6–1, 6–2
Loss 4–1 Jan 2020 ITF Malibu, US 25,000 Hard   Nadia Podoroska 6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss 4–2 Feb 2020 Kentucky Open, US 100,000 Hard (i)   Olga Govortsova 4–6, 4–6
Loss 4–3 Feb 2021 ITF Boca Raton, US 25,000 Hard   Varvara Lepchenko 6–3, 4–6, 0–6
Loss 4–4 Mar 2021 ITF Newport Beach, US 25,000 Hard   Danielle Lao 2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win 5–4 Apr 2021 Charlottesville Open, US 60,000 Clay   Wang Xinyu 3–6, 6–4, 4–1 ret.
Win 6–4 May 2021 ITF Charleston Pro, US 100,000 Clay   Madison Brengle 6–2, 7–6(6)
Win 7–4 May 2024 Open Saint-Gaudens, France 75,000 Clay   Séléna Janicijevic 6–1, 6–7(3), 6–0

Doubles: 1 (title)

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Legend
$60,000 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Aug 2019 Landisville Tennis Challenge,
United States
60,000 Hard   Vania King   Hayley Carter
  Jamie Loeb
4–6, 6–2, [10–5]

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

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Girls' singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2017 French Open Clay   Whitney Osuigwe 4–6, 7–6(5), 3–6
Win 2017 Wimbledon Grass   Ann Li 6–2, 5–7, 6–2

Girls' doubles: 1 (title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2016 Wimbledon Grass   Usue Maitane Arconada   Mariam Bolkvadze
  Caty McNally
6–2, 6–3

Head-to-head records

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Record against top 10 players

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  • She has a 1–8 (11%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Result W–L Opponent Rank Event Surface Rd Score Rank H2H
2018
Loss 0–1   Angelique Kerber No. 10 Wimbledon Championships, UK Grass 2R 6–3, 2–6, 4–6 No. 237
2022
Loss 0–2   Paula Badosa No. 3 Charleston Open, United States Clay (g) 3R 6–3, 6–7(8–10), 1–6 No. 89
Win 1–2   Ons Jabeur No. 2 Jasmin Open, Tunisia Hard QF 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 No. 73
2023
Loss 1–3   Belinda Bencic No. 10 Australian Open, Australia Hard 2R 6–7(3–7), 3–6 No. 62
Loss 1–4   Iga Świątek No. 1 Indian Wells Open, United States Hard 2R 0–6, 1–6 No. 56
Loss 1–5   Iga Świątek No. 1 French Open, France Clay 2R 4–6, 0–6 No. 102
Loss 1–6   Iga Świątek No. 1 Poland Open, Poland Hard 2R 2–6, 2–6 No. 78
Loss 1–7   Jessica Pegula No. 4 Korea Open, South Korea Hard QF 6–4, 3–6, 0–6 No. 98
2024
Loss 1–8   Coco Gauff No. 3 ASB Classic, New Zealand Hard 1R 4–6, 2–6 No. 95

Notes

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  1. ^ a b The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
  2. ^ 2016: WTA ranking-838,
    ... 2019: WTA ranking-472,
    2020: WTA ranking-462.

References

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  1. ^ Pachelli, Nick (August 15, 2017). "Claire Liu, a Rising Teenage Tennis Player, Reaches a Crossroad". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Claire's Journal, https://claireliu.substack.com/
  3. ^ Waldstein, David (July 15, 2017). "Claire Liu Ends Drought for American Women in Wimbledon Junior Singles". New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  4. ^ 2015 ITF Pro Circuit Tournament in Orlando, Florida. International Tennis Federation. Accessed on 27 August 2017.
  5. ^ Kumar, Aishwarya. Wimbledon junior champ Claire Liu is having a ball after shaking slump. ESPN: August 2, 2017. Accessed on August 27, 2017.
  6. ^ US Open 2017: Women's Qualifying Singles Draw. Archived 2017-08-30 at the Wayback Machine US Open. Accessed on August 27, 2017.
  7. ^ US Open 2017: Women's Doubles Draw. Archived 2017-09-10 at the Wayback Machine US Open. Accessed on August 27, 2017.
  8. ^ "Kerber weathers Liu scare to move on at Wimbledon". July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  9. ^ Roenigk, Alyssa (July 15, 2018). "Lost amid the Serena Williams fairy-tale story ... the Angelique Kerber fairy-tale story". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "W25 Florence, SC 2019". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Ciesa, Victoria (May 5, 2021). "Claire Liu back in the winner's circle". USTA. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "W100 Charleston, SC 2021". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Trevisan races past Liu in Rabat to capture first WTA title".
  14. ^ "Claire Liu [USA] | Australian Open". ausopen.com.
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