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 9–3, as of July 2024.
Personal life
She was born in Nanjing in 1994. Wang Yafan started playing tennis when she was nine years old.[1]
Wang made her career breakthrough at the 2018 Miami Open, where she reached the fourth round as a qualifier, then lost to Angelique Kerber.
2019: First career title, top 50 debut
Wang won her first ever WTA Tour singles title at the Mexican Open in Acapulco where she defeated Sofia Kenin in three sets, after being down a set and a break.[5] As a result, she achieved her best ranking of world No. 49 on 4 March 2019.
At the Miami Open, she defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the first round. In the second, she clinched her first victory against a top-10 player by defeating Elina Svitolina in straight sets. She then won against Danielle Collins in straight sets and reached the fourth round,[6] but then lost to compatriot Wang Qiang, in straight sets.
2023: Back to top 100
Ranked No. 114 at the US Open, after four years of absence, she qualified for the main draw and upset Caroline Garcia.[7] As a result, she returned to the top 100 in the rankings on 11 September 2023.[8][9]
2024: Major third round
At the 2024 Australian Open, she reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career, defeating 22nd seed Sorana Cîrstea and Emma Raducanu.[10] As a result, she returned to the top 80 in the rankings, on 29 January 2024.[11]
Performance timelines
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.
^Edition is split into the two years due to COVID-19.
^ abcThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. 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.