Li Tu

Last updated

Li Tu
Tu RGQ23 (52942973432).jpg
Tu at the 2023 French Open
Country (sports)Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Residence Adelaide, Australia
Born (1996-05-27) 27 May 1996 (age 28)
Adelaide, Australia
Height1.83m (6ft)
Turned pro2021
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CoachDavid Macpherson
Prize money$728,556
Singles
Career record2–12 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 168 (13 January 2025)
Current rankingNo. 171 (17 March 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 1R (2021, 2025)
French Open Q2 (2024)
Wimbledon Q2 (2024)
US Open 1R (2024)
Doubles
Career record2–2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 197 (9 January 2023)
Current rankingNo. 286 (2 December 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open 3R (2022, 2025)
Last updated on: 2 December 2024.

Li Tu (born 27 May 1996) is an Australian tennis player who mainly competes on the ATP Challenger Tour. Tu has career-high rankings by the ATP of 168 in singles, reached on 13 January 2025, and 197 in doubles, achieved on 9 January 2023. [1]

Contents

Career

20112014: Pro debut and retirement

Tu made his ITF Futures debut in February 2011 at the Australia F2. He played four other tournaments, losing in the first round in all of them.[ citation needed ]

Tu competed in the 2012 Junior Davis Cup alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, later working as a tennis coach prior to his debut on the senior tour. [2]

In February 2014, he won his first match on ITF-level. In April 2014, Tu reached the quarterfinal of the Australia F5, his best result this level, but retired in June 2014. [3]

20202021: Return, ATP and major debut, four ITF titles

In 2020, Tu was inspired to return to playing tennis and enjoyed success on the Australian UTR Pro Tennis Series. [3]

Tu made his ATP Tour debut at the 2021 Murray River Open from where he received a wildcard into the singles main draw. [4] Tu also made his Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Australian Open, after receiving a wildcard. He lost in the first round to Feliciano López. [5]

In August 2021, Tu won his first ITF title as an unranked qualifier at a M15 tournament in Tunisia. He was competing in his first international event since June 2014. [3] In September 2021, Tu won the singles and doubles titles at a tournament in Monastir, Tunisia. [6]

Tu ended the 2021 season with an ATP ranking of No. 521.[ citation needed ]

2022: Maiden Challenger title, top 200 debut

Tu lost in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open – Men's singles qualifying. [7] He made his Grand Slam tournament debut in doubles and reached the third round, after receiving a wildcard with Dane Sweeny.[ citation needed ]

In May, he scooped an ITF title in Cairo and finished runner-up at another ITF event at Monastir, [8] winning 11 of his past 12 matches. He raised 55 places to a new career-high of world No. 342 on 9 May 2022. [9]

In July, Tu made his debut on the ATP Challenger Tour in Rome, Georgia, where he lost to Yasutaka Uchiyama. The following week in Indianapolis, as an alternate, he won his first Challenger match against Michail Pervolarakis, but lost to Dominik Koepfer in the second round. He then made his first Challenger quarterfinal in Winnipeg, defeating seventh seed Gijs Brouwer in the second round, before losing to Enzo Couacaud. [ citation needed ] As a result he reached world No. 252 on 1 August 2022.[ citation needed ]

In October, Tu made his first Challenger semifinal in Seoul, after qualifying by beating Cho Se-hyuk and Mukund Sasikumar. In the main draw, he beat Kaichi Uchida, fellow qualifier Naoki Nakagawa and the fifth seed, compatriot Christopher O'Connell. He defeated the sixth seed, compatriot James Duckworth, in the semifinals to reach his first Challenger final where he defeated Wu Yibing in straight sets. [10] As a result, he moved more than 100 positions up in the rankings, at world No. 190 on 17 October 2022.[ citation needed ]

2023: First ATP Tour win

In Newport, after qualifying for the main draw, Tu won his first match at ATP Tour level by beating Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets. This was also his first match win against a top 100 player. [11]

He entered the Mallorca Championships, also as qualifier, but lost his first-round match against lucky loser Pavel Kotov. [12]

He also entered the main draw at the Chengdu Open as a lucky loser and lost in the first round to Arthur Rinderknech. [13]

2024: US Open debut

He qualified for his home tournament, the Brisbane International.[ citation needed ]

He again qualified for the Hall of Fame Open, losing to Eliot Spizzirri in the first round. [14] He also qualified for the main draw of the US Open making his debut at this major. [15] In the first round, he lost to third seed Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. [16]

2025: Adelaide International second round

As a wildcard entrant, Tu defeated James Duckworth to reach the second round at the Adelaide International, [17] where he lost to Benjamin Bonzi. [18] Again given entry to the main draw as a wildcard at the Australian Open, he lost to 24th seed Jiří Lehečka in the first round. [19]

Performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#P#DNQAZ#POGSBNMSNTIPNH
(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.
Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R Q1 Q2 Q1 1R 0 / 20–2
French Open AA Q1 Q2 0 / 00–0
Wimbledon AAA Q2 0 / 00–0
US Open AAA 1R 0 / 10–1
Win–loss0–10–00–00–10–10 / 30–3
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Shanghai Masters NH Q2 1R 0 / 10–1
Win–loss0–10–00–00–10–00 / 10–1

Personal life

Tu was born in Adelaide to Chinese immigrant parents. His mother, Yu Ping Zheng, died in 2022. [20]

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-up)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–2)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0 Oct 2022 Seoul, South KoreaChallengerHard Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wu Yibing 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss1–1 Jul 2024 Lexington, USAChallengerHard Flag of Brazil.svg João Fonseca 1–6, 4–6
Loss1–2 Nov 2024 Yokohama, JapanChallengerHard Flag of Japan.svg Yuta Shimizu 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 2–6

Doubles: 1 (title)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0 Jul 2024 Chicago, USAChallengerHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Saville Flag of the United States.svg Mac Kiger
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Benjamin Sigouin
6–4, 3–6, [10–3]

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Legend
ITF WTT (9–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (8–4)
Clay (1–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Aug 2021M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Argentina.svg Mateo Nicolás Martínez6–1, 6–1
Win2–0Sep 2021M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Brazil.svg Gabriel Décamps 6–2, 6–1
Win3–0Sep 2021M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Japan.svg Ryota Tanuma3–6, 6–1, 6–2
Win4–0Nov 2021M25 Saint-Dizier, FranceWTTHard (i) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dane Sweeny 1–6, 6–1, 6–4
Win5–0Feb 2022M25 Bendigo, AustraliaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Harris 6–3, 6–1
Win6–0May 2022M25 Cairo, EgyptWTTClay Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Colin Sinclair 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss6–1May 2022M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Tunisia.svg Skander Mansouri 4–6, 2–6
Win7–1May 2022M25 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Tunisia.svg Skander Mansouri6–7(3–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Loss7–2Jul 2022M15 Waco, Texas, USAWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Walton 5–7, 6–0, 1–6
Win8–2Apr 2023M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Portugal.svg Daniel Rodrigues3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss8–3Apr 2023M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Portugal.svg Duarte Vale 3–6, 0–3, ret.
Loss8–4Feb 2024M25 Traralgon, AustraliaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Omar Jasika 6–7(1–7), 2–6
Win9–4Mar 2024M25 Traralgon, AustraliaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alex Bolt 6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
ITF WTT (4–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–1)
Clay (1–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Aug 2021M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jeremy Beale Flag of Denmark.svg August Holmgren
Flag of Denmark.svg Johannes Ingildsen
6–4, 6–2
Win2–0Sep 2021M15 Monastir, TunisiaWTTHard Flag of New Zealand.svg Ajeet Rai Flag of France.svg Martin Breysach
Flag of France.svg Lilian Marmousez
6–0, 6–4
Win3–0Feb 2022M25 Canberra, AustraliaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dane Sweeny Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jayden Court
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Hough
6–3, 7–5
Loss3–1Mar 2022M25 Bendigo, AustraliaWTTHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dane Sweeny Flag of Australia (converted).svg Akira Santillan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Philip Sekulic
5–7, 7–6, [7–10]
Win4–1Mar 2022M25 Canberra, AustraliaWTTClay Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dane Sweeny Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Romios
Flag of Ukraine.svg Eric Vanshelboim
7–6, 3–6, [10–7]

References

  1. "Li Tu | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  2. ""If I play my best I can beat half the draw" Unranked wildcard Li Tu ready to turn heads". The Age. 6 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Rogers, Leigh (30 August 2021). "Ranking Movers". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. "Albert Ramos sigue adelante en el Murray River Open". as.com. February 2021.
  5. "De Minaur delivers". Tennis Australia. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  6. Rogers, Leigh (20 September 2021). "Ranking Movers". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  7. "Aussie Men Exit Australian Open Qualifying". Tennis Australia. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  8. "From 'unbelievable' Australian Open chance to triumph in Egypt: Li Tu reaping rewards of six-year break from tennis". www.sportingnews.com. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. "Ranking movers: Li Tu climbs to new career-high". tennis.com.
  10. "Australian tennis player Li Tu wins emotional first ATP Challenger title". www.sportingnews.com. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. "Li Tu records milestone victory in all-Australian battle at Newport". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. "Mallorca Open: Kotov knocks out qualifier Li Tu to make second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  13. "Chengdu Open: Rinderknech books spot in second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  14. "Hall of Fame Open: Spizzirri sees off Tu for second round berth". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  15. "A record-breaking six Australians qualify at US Open 2024". 22 August 2024.
  16. "How Aussie tennis pro Li Tu lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the U.S. Open but won over fans online". NBC News. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  17. "Adelaide Open: Tu moves into second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  18. "ATP Adelaide: Qualifier Bonzi reaches quarter-finals". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  19. "Australian Open: Lehecka comes through Tu test to make second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  20. Huntsdale, Duncan (21 October 2022). "Rising Australian tennis player Li Tu's emotional Challenger Tour breakthrough comes weeks after mother's death". ABC News . Retrieved 1 August 2024.