Introduction
Li Xuerui (born 24 January 1991) is a retired Chinese professional badminton player, she is one of the most successful players of her time. She was a gold medalist at 2012 London Olympic in the women's singles event and was the silver medalists in the 2013 and 2014 World Championships. Li Xuerui had won fourteen Superseries titles, confirmed her name as China's second most successful player after Wang Yihan. She reached a career high of no. 1 in the women's singles for 124 weeks. Li graduated with a BA from Huaqiao University.
Career summary
Li Xuerui started playing badminton since she was 7 years old, she began playing in local clubs in her hometown in Chongqing. She made her professional debut as a badminton player when she attended the Asia Junior championship which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2008
In 2008, she won gold medal the Asian Junior championship, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2010
In 2010, Li Xuerui won her first Grand Prix Gold title at the Macau Open, at the time in the final she defeated Adrianti Firdasari from Indonesia with a score of 21–18, 21–15.
Li won her first major tournament, the Asian Championships. In the final she defeated her compatriot, Liu Xin 21–13, 18–21, 21–19.
2012
In 2012, she repeated her success at the Asian Championships by defeating Wang Yihan with a score of 21–16, 16–21, 21–9.
Li won the prestigious Super Series Premier event title at the All England Open for the first time by beating Wang Yihan in the final with a score of 21–13, 21–19.
She then captured another international titles in India Open, China Open, and Hong Kong Open.
She has collected five Super Series titles, including the Super Series Final in Dubai which she won with defeatedWang Shixian in the final.
The 2012 season could be said to be the career peak for Li Xuerui. She made her first appearance at the Olympic Games, and on August 5, she won the London Olympic gold medal, in the final she defeated fellow compatriot Wang Yihan with the rubber games with a score of 21–15, 21–23, 21–17.
2013
In 2013, she won a silver medal in the World Championship when she was defeated by Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon with a score of 22–20, 18–21, 14–21.
At the same year, she won three Super Series titles in the Indonesia Open, China Open and the Super Series Final.
2014
In 2014, she succeeded to the World Championships final, then she lost to the Spanish player Carolina Marín with a score of 21–17, 17–21, 18–21.
Li managed to win four Super Series titles including successfully defending her title in Indonesia Open, other titles: Japan Open, Malaysia Open, and Denmark Open.
2015
In 2015, Li Xuerui managed to defend her title at the Denmark Open at that time in the final she defeated P. V. Sindhu of India with a score of 21-19, 21-12.
2016 Summer Olympics: heartbreak and injury issues
At the 2016 Summer Olympics women's singles semi-finals, Li Xuerui was defeated by world No. 1 Carolina Marín when she suffered injuries to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral meniscus. This forced her to withdraw from the bronze medal match against Nozomi Okuhara.
2018: Return to professional badminton
Li made her return to professional badminton at the 2017 National Games of China, where she played women's doubles but lost at the group stage. The reason for why she had played doubles instead of singles was that she was not yet fully recovered. In 2018, she made her return to international women's singles after a hiatus of 600 days at the 2018 Lingshui China Masters, which she won.
2019
In 2019, she played 25 times with 11 wins and 14 losses. She made to the quarter final at the All England Open, stopped by the 2017 World Champion from Japan Nozomi Okuhara with a score of 17–21, 14–21. After that, finished as the runner-up at the New Zealand Open, losing to South Korean youngster An Se-young with a score of 19–21, 15–21.
She lost out to Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-18, 20-22, 6-21 In Australian Open despite leading in the 2nd game. Then afterwards, her career witnessed a huge downfall. She competed in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China and lost in all of its 1st round matches. She announced her retirement from the international circuit in the 1st round match against Sayaka Takahashi in Korea Open dated 17th October after trailing in the 2nd game 15-21, 3-11.
Achievements
Individual titles (27)
| Year | Tournament | Opponent in final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Olympic Games | Wang Yihan | 21–15, 21–23, 21–17 |
| 2012 | Badminton Asia Championships | Wang Yihan | 21–16, 16–21, 21–9 |
| 2010 | Badminton Asia Championships | Liu Xin | 21–13, 18–21, 21–19 |
| 2015 | China Open | Saina Nehwal | 21–12, 21–15 |
| 2015 | Denmark Open | Pusarla V. Sindhu | 21–19, 21–12 |
| 2014 | Denmark Open | Wang Yihan | 21–17, 22–20 |
| 2014 | Indonesia Open | Ratchanok Intanon | 21–13, 21–13 |
| 2014 | Malaysia Open | Wang Shixian | 21–16, 21–17 |
| 2013 | Super Series Masters Finals | Tai Tzu-ying | 21–8, 21–14 |
| 2013 | China Open | Wang Shixian | 16–21, 21–17, 21–19 |
| 2013 | Indonesia Open | Juliane Schenk | 21–16, 18–21, 21–17 |
| 2012 | Super Series Masters Finals | Wang Shixian | 21–9, 15–4 |
| 2012 | China Open | Ratchanok Inthanon | 21–12, 21–9 |
| 2012 | All England Open | Wang Yihan | 21–13, 21–19 |
| 2012 | Hong Kong Open | Wang Yihan | 21–12, 11–3 |
| 2014 | Japan Open | Tai Tzu-ying | 21–16, 21–6 |
| 2012 | India Open | Juliane Schenk | 14–21, 21–17, 21–8 |
| 2016 | China Masters | Sun Yu | 21–16, 19–21, 21–6 |
| 2016 | German Open | Wang Shixian | 21–14, 21–17 |
| 2012 | German Open | Juliane Schenk | 21–19, 21–16 |
| 2011 | Bitburger Open | Yao Jie | 21–8, 21–9 |
| 2011 | Thailand Open | Jiang Yanjiao | 14–21, 21–14, 21–14 |
| 2010 | Macau Open | Adriyanti Firdasari | 21–18, 21–15 |
| 2018 | Lingshui China Masters | Kim Ga-eun | 16–21, 21–16, 21–18 |
| 2018 | U.S. Open | Zhang Beiwen | 24–26, 21–15, 21–11 |
| 2018 | Canada Open | Sayaka Takahashi | 22–20, 15–21, 21–17 |
| 2018 | Korea Masters | Han Yue | 21–10, 21–18 |
| Junior Tournaments | |||
| 2008 | Asian Junior Championships | Wang Shixian | 22–20, 21–13 |
Individual runners-up (19)
| Year | Tournament | Opponent in final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | World Championships | Carolina Marín | 21–17, 17–21, 18–21 |
| 2013 | World Championships | Ratchanok Intanon | 20–22, 21–18, 14–21 |
| 2014 | Asian Games | Wang Yihan | 21–11, 17–21, 7–21 |
| 2016 | Asia Championships | Wang Yihan | 14–21, 21–13, 16–21 |
| 2015 | Asia Championships | Ratchanok Intanon | 22–20, 21–23, 12–21 |
| 2013 | Asia Championships | Wang Yihan | 15–21, 13–21 |
| 2015 | Malaysia Open | Carolina Marín | 21–19, 19–21, 17–21 |
| 2014 | All England Open | Wang Shixian | 19–21, 18–21 |
| 2012 | Indonesia Open | Saina Nehwal | 21–13, 20–22, 19–21 |
| 2016 | India Open | Ratchanok Intanon | 17–21, 18–21 |
| 2014 | French Open | Wang Shixian | 15–21, 3–8 |
| 2014 | Singapore Open | Wang Yihan | 11–21, 19–21 |
| 2014 | India Open | Wang Shixian | 20–22, 19–21 |
| 2013 | Singapore Open | Wang Yihan | 18–21, 12–21 |
| 2011 | French Open | Wang Xin | 15–21, 19–21 |
| 2010 | French Open | Wang Yihan | 13–21, 9–21 |
| 2015 | Chinese Taipei Open | Wang Yihan | 10–21, 9–21 |
| 2010 | Korea Masters | Liu Xin | 9–21, 14–21 |
| 2019 | New Zealand Open | An Se-young | 19–21, 15–21 |
- BWF Major Event
- Continental Event
- BWF World Tour
- Super Series Premier
- Super Series tournament
- Grand Prix Gold tournament
- Grand Prix tournament