# Li Xuerui

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 Olympics in the women's singles event and was the silver medalists in the 2013 and 2014 World Championships. Li Xuerui won fourteen Superseries titles, confirming her status 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 when 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 a gold medal at 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, 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 other international titles in India Open, China Open, and Hong Kong Open.
She collected five Super Series titles, including the Super Series Final in Dubai which she won defeating Wang 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 compatriot Wang Yihan 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 in the final with a score of 22–20, 18–21, 14–21.
In the same year, she won three Super Series titles in the Indonesia Open, China Open and the Super Series Final.

### 2014

In 2014, she reached 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, the other titles were: Japan Open, Malaysia Open, and Denmark Open.

### 2015

In 2015, Li Xuerui managed to defend her title at the Denmark Open. 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 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 reached the quarter final at the All England Open, but was stopped by the 2017 World Champion from Japan Nozomi Okuhara with a score of 17–21, 14–21. After that, she 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 to Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-18, 20-22, 6-21 at the Australian Open despite leading in the second game. Afterwards, her career witnessed a huge downfall. She competed in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China and lost in the first round in all the tournaments. She announced her retirement from the international circuit in the first round match against Sayaka Takahashi in Korea Open on 17 October after trailing in the 2nd game 15-21, 3-11.

## Achievements
### Olympic Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2012 | Wembley Arena, London, Great Britain | Wang Yihan | 21–15, 21–23, 21–17 | Gold |

### World Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2013 | Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou, China | Ratchanok Intanon | 20–22, 21–18, 14–21 | Silver |
| 2014 | Ballerup Super Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark | Carolina Marín | 21–17, 17–21, 18–21 | Silver |

### Asian Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2014 | Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea | Wang Yihan | 21–11, 17–21, 7–21 | Silver |

### Asian Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India | Liu Xin | 21–13, 18–21, 21–19 | Gold |
| 2012 | Qingdao Sports Centre Conson Stadium, Qingdao, China | Wang Yihan | 21–16, 16–21, 21–9 | Gold |
| 2013 | Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan | Wang Yihan | 15–21, 13–21 | Silver |
| 2015 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China | Ratchanok Intanon | 22–20, 21–23, 12–21 | Silver |
| 2016 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China | Wang Yihan | 14–21, 21–13, 16–21 | Silver |

### World University Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Chinese Taipei | Liu Xin | 21–12, 21–14 | Gold |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Chinese Taipei | Liu Xin | Cheng Shu Ma Jin | Walkover | Silver |

### Asian Junior Championships

Girls' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Wang Shixian | 22–20, 21–13 | Gold |

### BWF World Tour

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Lingshui China Masters | Super 100 | Kim Ga-eun | 16–21, 21–16, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2018 | U.S. Open | Super 300 | Beiwen Zhang | 24–26, 21–15, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2018 | Canada Open | Super 100 | Sayaka Takahashi | 22–20, 15–21, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2018 | Korea Masters | Super 300 | Han Yue | 21–10, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2019 | New Zealand Open | Super 300 | An Se-young | 19–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |

### BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries has two levels: Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011, with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | French Open | Wang Yihan | 13–21, 9–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | French Open | Wang Xin | 15–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | All England Open | Wang Yihan | 21–13, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2012 | India Open | Juliane Schenk | 14–21, 21–17, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2012 | Indonesia Open | Saina Nehwal | 21–13, 20–22, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | China Open | Ratchanok Intanon | 21–12, 21–9 | Winner |
| 2012 | Hong Kong Open | Wang Yihan | 21–12, 11–3 retired | Winner |
| 2012 | World Superseries Finals | Wang Shixian | 21–9, 15–4 retired | Winner |
| 2013 | Indonesia Open | Juliane Schenk | 21–16, 18–21, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2013 | Singapore Open | Wang Yihan | 18–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | China Open | Wang Shixian | 16–21, 21–17, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2013 | World Superseries Finals | Tai Tzu-ying | 21–8, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2014 | Malaysia Open | Wang Shixian | 21–16, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2014 | All England Open | Wang Shixian | 19–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | India Open | Wang Shixian | 20–22, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | Singapore Open | Wang Yihan | 11–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | Japan Open | Tai Tzu-ying | 21–16, 21–6 | Winner |
| 2014 | Indonesia Open | Ratchanok Intanon | 21–13, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2014 | Denmark Open | Wang Yihan | 21–17, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2014 | French Open | Wang Shixian | 15–21, 3–8 retired | Runner-up |
| 2015 | Malaysia Open | Carolina Marín | 21–19, 19–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2015 | Denmark Open | P. V. Sindhu | 21–19, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2015 | China Open | Saina Nehwal | 21–12, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2016 | India Open | Ratchanok Intanon | 17–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Superseries Finals tournament
    BWF Superseries Premier tournament
    BWF Superseries tournament

### BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Macau Open | Adriyanti Firdasari | 21–18, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2010 | Korea Grand Prix | Liu Xin | 9–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | Thailand Open | Jiang Yanjiao | 14–21, 21–14, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2011 | Bitburger Open | Yao Jie | 21–8, 21–9 | Winner |
| 2012 | German Open | Juliane Schenk | 21–19, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2015 | Chinese Taipei Open | Wang Yihan | 10–21, 9–21 | Runner-up |
| 2016 | German Open | Wang Shixian | 21–14, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2016 | China Masters | Sun Yu | 21–16, 19–21, 21–6 | Winner |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF Grand Prix tournament

## Performance timeline
### Singles performance timeline
#### Key

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |
To avoid confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through 2016 Indonesia Open.
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Summer Olympics | NH | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | G 6–0 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 4th 4–1 | 1 / 2 | 10–1 | 91% |
| World Championships | A | NH | Absent | Absent | Absent | NH | S 4–1 | S 4–1 | 3R 1–1 | NH | 0 / 3 | 9–3 | 75% |
| World Superseries Finals | NH | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | W 5–0 | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2 / 2 | 10–0 | 100% |
| Asian Championships | Absent | Absent | Absent | G 8–0 | QF 2–1 | G 5–0 | S 4–1 | A | S 4–1 | S 4–1 | 2 / 6 | 27–4 | 87% |
| Asian Games | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | S 3–1 | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
| East Asian Games | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 0 | | |
| Team Competitions ||||||||||||||
| Uber Cup | NH | A | NH | A | NH | G 2–0 | NH | G 6–0 | NH | G 5–0 | 3 / 3 | 13–0 | 100% |
| Sudirman Cup | A | NH | A | NH | A | NH | G 3–0 | NH | G 3–0 | NH | 2 / 2 | 6–0 | 100% |
| Asian Games | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | G 3–0 | Not Held | Not Held | 1 / 1 | 3–0 | 100% |
| Uber Cup Asia preliminaries | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | S 4–0 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | 0 / 1 | 4–0 | 100% |
| East Asian Games | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 0 | | |
| BWF World Superseries Premier ||||||||||||||
| All England Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | W 5–0 | 1R 0–1 | F 4–1 | 2R 1–1 | QF 2–1 | 1 / 6 | 13–5 | 72% |
| Malaysia Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | QF 2–1 | A | W 5–0 | F 4–1 | 2R 1–1 | 1 / 5 | 13–4 | 76% |
| Indonesia Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | F 4–1 | W 5–0 | W 5–0 | 2R 1–1 | 2R 1–1 | 2 / 6 | 17–4 | 81% |
| Denmark Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF 2–1 | QF 2–1 | QF 2–1 | QF 2–1 | W 5–0 | W 5–0 | A | 2 / 6 | 18–4 | 82% |
| China Open | Q1 0–1 | QF 3–1 | SF 5–1 | 2R 1–1 | SF 3–1 | W 5–0 | W 5–0 | A | W 5–0 | A | 3 / 8 | 27–5 | 84% |
| BWF World Superseries ||||||||||||||
| India Open | NH | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | A | F 4–1 | A | F 4–1 | 1 / 3 | 14–2 | 88% |
| Singapore Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF 4–1 | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | F 4–1 | Absent | Absent | 0 / 3 | 12–3 | 80% |
| Australian Open | | | | | | | | | QF 2–1 | SF 3–1 | 0 / 2 | 5–2 | 71% |
| Japan Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1R 0–1 | W 5–0 | QF 2–1 | A | 1 / 3 | 7–2 | 78% |
| Korea Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1R 0–1 | QF 2–1 | 1R 0–1 | A | QF 2–1 | A | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50% |
| French Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | F 4–1 | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | QF 2–1 | A | 0 / 4 | 14–4 | 78% |
| Hong Kong Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | QF 2–1 | A | 1R 0–1 | A | 1 / 3 | 7–2 | 78% |
| BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix ||||||||||||||
| Malaysia Masters | Not Held | Not Held | Q1 0–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| German Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | QF 2–1 | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | 2 / 3 | 12–1 | 92% |
| China Masters | Absent | Absent | 1R 1–1 | 2R 1–1 | 1R 0–1 | QF 1–1 | SF 3–1 | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | 1 / 6 | 11–5 | 69% |
| Chinese Taipei Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | A | 0 / 1 | 4–1 | 80% |
| U.S. Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF 2–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% |
| Thailand Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | NH | W 5–0 | Absent | Absent | NH | Absent | Absent | 1 / 1 | 5–0 | 100% |
| Bitburger Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | W 5–0 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1 / 2 | 6–1 | 86% |
| Korea Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | SF 3–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 2 | 7–2 | 78% |
| Macau Open | Absent | Absent | Q2 1–1 | W 5–0 | SF 3–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1 / 3 | 9–2 | 82% |
| Career Statistics ||||||||||||||
| | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | | | |
| Tournaments Played | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Finals Reached | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 49 | 49 | 49 |
| Overall win–loss | 0–1 | 3–1 | 7–4 | 30–7 | 32–12 | 58–5 | 39–10 | 52–6 | 36–11 | 34–7 | 291–64 | 291–64 | 291–64 |
| Win Percentage | 0% | 75% | 64% | 81% | 73% | 92% | 80% | 90% | 77% | 83% | 81.97% | 81.97% | 81.97% |
| Year End Ranking | | | 146 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | | | |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Petya Nedelcheva | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| He Bingjiao | 5 | 2 | 3 | –1 |
| Lu Lan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wang Lin | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Wang Shixian | 17 | 9 | 8 | +1 |
| Wang Xin | 7 | 1 | 6 | –5 |
| Wang Yihan | 18 | 8 | 10 | –2 |
| Zhang Yiman | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Zhu Lin | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Cheng Shao-chieh | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Tai Tzu-ying | 14 | 11 | 3 | +8 |
| Tine Baun | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Pi Hongyan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Juliane Schenk | 7 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Wang Chen | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Yip Pui Yin | 10 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Zhou Mi | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Saina Nehwal | 14 | 12 | 2 | +10 |
| P. V. Sindhu | 7 | 3 | 4 | –1 |
| Maria Kristin Yulianti | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Lindaweni Fanetri | 7 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Gregoria Mariska Tunjung | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Minatsu Mitani | 10 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
| Nozomi Okuhara | 6 | 2 | 4 | –2 |
| Akane Yamaguchi | 11 | 7 | 4 | +3 |
| Aya Ohori | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| An Se-young | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Bae Yeon-ju | 10 | 8 | 2 | +6 |
| Sung Ji-hyun | 14 | 13 | 1 | +12 |
| Carolina Marín | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Porntip Buranaprasertsuk | 13 | 10 | 3 | +7 |
| Ratchanok Intanon | 11 | 7 | 4 | +3 |