From the Australian Open to the China Open, Lis achieved six major career breakthroughs

It is well known that tennis tournaments start in January and continue for a very long period. Because of this, achieving good results in a single week’s tennis event is not particularly difficult. However, consistently maintaining strong performances and reaching new career milestones is far from easy.

Yet, in the 2025 season, there is a player who began the year by reaching new heights in her career. Moreover, she has persistently sustained these breakthroughs. So, who is this player? What kind of progress did she make during the 2025 season? Let this article take you through her journey.

This player is Lis from Germany. At the start of the 2025 season, her ranking was outside the top 130. Due to her low world ranking, Lis had to start from the Australian Open qualifying rounds. Although she defeated Belgium’s Vander Winkel and Australia’s A-Rodionova in the first two qualifying rounds, she lost in the final qualifying round to Australian player Eyawa. However, thanks to some withdrawals from higher-ranked players, Lis entered the main draw of the 2025 Australian Open as a lucky loser.

In the main draw’s first round, she swept past Australian player Biller, earning her first Australian Open victory of her career. This marked Lis’s first breakthrough in the 2025 season. In subsequent matches, she defeated France’s Grajova and Romania’s Cristian, advancing to her first Grand Slam round of 16. This was her second breakthrough in 2025. Although she only won one game against Poland’s Swiatek in the quarterfinals and suffered a heavy defeat, Lis’s ranking still broke into the top 100 for the first time since turning professional.

In mid-February, Lis qualified for the main draw of the WTA1000 Dubai Open by consecutively defeating American Ann Lee and Russian Rashimova. In the main draw’s first round, despite losing the first set, she came back to win the next two sets against Romania’s Begu, securing her first main-draw WTA1000 victory. This was her third career breakthrough in 2025.

At the end of May, Lis appeared at Roland Garros. In the first round of the French Open, she delivered a dominant performance by winning 6-0 against American Sterns, earning her first career victory at Roland Garros. This was her fourth breakthrough in 2025.

Unfortunately, she was swept out in the second round by Canadian player Mboko and could not advance further. At the end of June, during the first round at Wimbledon, Lis battled through three sets to defeat Chinese player Yuan Yue, achieving her first career win at Wimbledon. This was her fifth breakthrough in the 2025 season.

Last week, she arrived in Beijing. In the first round of the WTA1000 China Open, Lis allowed only one game to Chinese player Zhang Rui’en, who had previously reached a Challenger semifinal. After this convincing victory, Lis gained immense confidence. In the following rounds, she defeated American Jovic, Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, and American Kessler, reaching her first-ever WTA1000 quarterfinal. This marked her sixth breakthrough in 2025.

Next, she will face the defending champion, American player Gauff. Can she continue her progress? Let’s wait and see. That’s the tennis story for today; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)