Shuai Peng

Peng Shuai first started playing at age eight when her uncle taught her the basics of the game. A quite girl, she likes to read, shop and play soccer on her off days from tennis. This 22-year old was coached by former tennis champ Michael Chang.

At 15, she won her first ITF title at Bautau earning her $10,000 in prize money. In July 2001, she claimed her second ITF singles title that year with another $10,000 tournament win. She also participated in her first WTA Tour competition but lost in the first round.

By the next year, Peng Shuai triumphed again in Bombay with another ITF win. She entered her first $25,000 ITF draw placing runner-up to Eva Birnerova in New Delhi. She participated in her first $50,000 ITF match but was eliminated in the second round.

In 2003, she opened with a win at Jackson and won her first $50,000 event at Changsha ending the year ranked World No. 326. She was on the other end of the court in an exciting match over Nicole Vaidisova in Columbus, Ohio. She claimed her first $75,000 win at Dothan, the sixth ITF win in her young career.

She continued 2004 entering the Wimbledon and the US Open. She again tried her luck at the WTA Tour gaining success at Cincinnati, reaching the quarterfinals. Peng Shuai showed great skill in Guangzhou defeating French starMarion Bartoli but she eventually lost her quarterfinal match to fellow Chinese Li Ting.

She opened 2005 upsetting Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinal. She managed to get to the second round the Australian Open before being ousted by Venus Williams in the second round. By the end of 2005, she was among the top five female Asian players in Asia ranking a career-high of World No. 31.

In 2007, she defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis at the China Open. She qualified for the 2008 Australian Open but fell on the first round. She also managed to push through the second round at the French Open. Her best finish in this year was third round at the Wimbledon.