In a triumphant display at the WTA 250 Guangzhou Open, Ann Li of the United States clinched her first title since 2021 by defeating New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in the final. The match concluded with scores of 7-6(6), 6-2, a testament to Li’s resilience and skill.
The journey to the final marked Li’s sixth appearance at the WTA final level and her third of the 2025 season. Her ascent to the championship match was facilitated when her semi-final opponent, Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai, was forced to retire due to a left hip injury while trailing 5-2 in the opening set.
In the other semi-final, Sun, an all-qualifier underdog, showcased her talent by overcoming American Claire Liu decisively, with a score of 6-0, 7-6(3). This victory propelled Sun into her second career final, having previously reached the championship round in Monterrey in 2024. Throughout the tournament, the New Zealander has stunned several favored competitors, including top seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and American Caty McNally.
The final was marked by a tightly contested first set. Despite the pressure, Li managed to outmaneuver Sun in the tiebreaker after initially struggling with missed opportunities, bouncing back to snatch the set 7-6(6) after saving multiple set points. Sun had taken an early 3-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Li’s determination ensured she converted on her sixth chance to take a critical lead.
Sun faced a challenging mental hurdle after the emotional first set, which seemed to affect her performance in the second. Li quickly capitalized, breaking Sun’s serve twice early to establish a strong position. Although Sun managed to pull one break back, Li maintained her composure and closed out the match, serving effectively in the eighth game to win after 1 hour and 41 minutes of play.
The first set featured an interesting statistic as neither player was able to convert break points until the tiebreaker despite both displaying excellent defense. Once the match moved into the second set, it was clear that Li had captured the momentum, leading to multiple breaks.
Li’s victory not only marks a significant achievement, as it ends a series of defeats in WTA finals, including back-to-back losses to Elise Mertens in Singapore and Sorana Cirstea in Cleveland earlier this season, but also propels her into the top 35 of the WTA rankings for the first time, as she prepares to debut at World No. 33.
For Sun, the journey continues as she remains without a WTA title but has shown promising signs that she may soon break through. Currently ranked No. 87, she aims to build on her stellar quarter-final performance at Wimbledon last year, where she made history as the first New Zealand woman to reach that stage in the Open Era.
In the doubles competition, the duo of Janice Tjen from Indonesia and Katarzyna Piter from Poland claimed the title after a hard-fought victory over Hong Kong’s Eudice Chong and Taipei’s En-Shuo Liang, finishing with scores of 3-6, 6-3 [10-5], completing a successful week in Guangzhou for the pair.
