Duan Yingying (Chinese: 段莹莹; born 3 July 1989) is a former Chinese tennis player.

In her career, she won one singles title and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and two WTA Challenger doubles titles, as well as eleven singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her nickname is lightning for her amazing forehand.

On 24 April 2017, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 60. On 3 February 2020, she peaked at No. 16 in the doubles rankings.

Career

2012

Starting the year as the No. 378 in the world, Duan's ranking would improve significantly to No. 128 by the year's end. Some of the highlights of her 2012 season included winning four ITF titles at the 25k level in Wellington, Changwon, Gimcheon and Goyang. Playing qualifying at the US Open, Duan had her first experience in a Grand Slam tournament. She would win her first qualifying round defeating Réka Luca Jani, but would fall in the next round to Kirsten Flipkens. She received a wild card to the Guangzhou International and won her first WTA Tour main-draw match defeating Luksika Khumkum in the first round. Duan also achieved her best results in ITF events near the end of 2012, reaching the semifinals of 100k+H Ningbo and the finals of 100k Suzhou, losing both matches to top-100 veteran Hsieh Su-wei.

2013: Major debut

Duan was due to make her major singles debut at Wimbledon but withdrew to compete in the National Games of China. She made her major singles debut in the main draw of the US Open, after winning three qualifying matches. However, she lost to sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki in the opening round. During the televised commentary of her match against Wozniacki, the commentators compared Duan's game to that of former world No. 1, Lindsay Davenport. They also began referring to her by the nickname of Duan-venport (段文波特) on the Chinese internet.

2015: First major singles win

At Wimbledon, as a qualifier, Duan defeated 2014 finalist Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets in the first round. This was considered one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. In the second round, Duan lost to Tatjana Maria in a long three-set match.

2016: First WTA Tour title

In July, she won her first WTA Tour title at the Jiangxi International Open, defeating Vania King in the final.

2017: Elite Trophy doubles title

In the first-round match at the Shenzhen Open, Duan wasted three match points and eventually lost to first seed and world No. 3, Agnieszka Radwańska. At the Australian Open, she had her best Grand Slam performance to date by defeating Rebecca Šramková and Varvara Lepchenko to reach the third round, where she lost to former world No. 1 and eventual finalist, Venus Williams, 1–6, 0–6.

Duan won her first ever WTA Tour doubles title at the Elite Trophy with Han Xinyun.

2018: Second doubles title

Duan won her second doubles title at the Taiwan Open, playing with Wang Yafan.

2019: French Open finalist, Wuhan doubles title

Duan and Zheng Saisai reached the final of the French Open, losing to Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.

In September, they reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, however, they were beaten by the eventual champions, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka. The following week, with Zheng unavailable, she partnered with Veronika Kudermetova for the first time to win the doubles title at the Wuhan Open, beating Mertens and Sabalenka in the final.

2021: Olympics participation

She partnered again Zheng Saisai at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. They lost in the first round.

Grand Slam performance timelines

Key
WFSFQF#RRRQ#P#DNQAZ#POGSBNMSNTIPNH

Singles

Tournament20122013201420152016201720182019W–L
Australian OpenAA1R1RQ23R2RQ13–4
French OpenAAAQ1A1R1RA0–2
WimbledonAAA2R2R1RQ2A2–3
US OpenQ21R1RQ22R2RAA2–4
Win–loss0–00–10–21–22–23–41–20–07–13

Doubles

Tournament20172018201920202021W–L
Australian OpenAA1R1R1R0–3
French Open3R3RFAA9–3
Wimbledon1R1R3RNHA2–3
US OpenA2RQFAA4–2
Win–loss2–23–310–40–10–115–11

Grand Slam tournament finals

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss2019French OpenClayChina Zheng SaisaiHungary Tímea Babos France Kristina Mladenovic2–6, 3–6

Other significant finals

WTA 1000 tournaments (Premier M & Premier 5)

Doubles: 1 (title)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win2019Wuhan OpenHardRussia Veronika KudermetovaBelgium Elise Mertens Belarus Aryna Sabalenka7–6(7–3), 6–2

WTA Elite Trophy

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win2017Elite Trophy, ZhuhaiHard (i)China Han XinyunChina Zhang Shuai China Lu Jingjing6–2, 6–1
Loss2019Elite Trophy, ZhuhaiHard (i)China Yang ZhaoxuanUkraine Lyudmyla Kichenok Slovenia Andreja Klepač3–6, 3–6

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 1 (title)

Legend
Legend Grand Slam WTA 1000 / Premier 5 WTA 500 / Premier WTA 250 / International (1–0)Finals by surface Hard (1–0) Clay GrassFinals by setting Outdoor (1–0) Indoor
Grand Slam
WTA 1000 / Premier 5
WTA 500 / Premier
WTA 250 / International (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay
Grass
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–0)
Indoor
ResultDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
WinAug 2016Jiangxi Open, ChinaInternationalHardUnited States Vania King1–6, 6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 8 (3 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
Legend Grand Slam (0–1) WTA Elite Trophy (1–1) WTA 1000 / Premier 5 (1–0) WTA 500 / Premier WTA 250 / International (1–3)Finals by surface Hard (3–3) Clay (0–2) GrassFinals by setting Outdoor (1–4) Indoor (2–1)
Grand Slam (0–1)
WTA Elite Trophy (1–1)
WTA 1000 / Premier 5 (1–0)
WTA 500 / Premier
WTA 250 / International (1–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–3)
Clay (0–2)
Grass
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–4)
Indoor (2–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Nov 2017Zhuhai, ChinaElite TrophyHard (i)China Han XinyunChina Lu Jingjing China Zhang Shuai6–2, 6–1
Win2–0Feb 2018Taipei Open, TaiwanInternationalHard (i)China Wang YafanJapan Nao Hibino Georgia (country) Oksana Kalashnikova7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
Loss2–1Jan 2019Shenzhen Open, ChinaInternationalHardCzech Republic Renata VoráčováChina Peng Shuai China Yang Zhaoxuan4–6, 3–6
Loss2–2May 2019Internationaux de Strasbourg, FranceInternationalClayChina Han XinyunAustralia Daria Gavrilova Australia Ellen Perez4–6, 3–6
Loss2–3Jun 2019French OpenGrand SlamClayChina Zheng SaisaiHungary Tímea Babos France Kristina Mladenovic2–6, 3–6
Win3–3Sep 2019Wuhan Open, ChinaPremier 5HardRussia Veronika KudermetovaBelgium Elise Mertens Belarus Aryna Sabalenka7–6(7–3), 6–2
Loss3–4Oct 2019Zhuhai, ChinaElite TrophyHard (i)China Yang ZhaoxuanUkraine Lyudmyla Kichenok Slovenia Andreja Klepač3–6, 3–6
Loss3–5Jan 2020Shenzhen Open, ChinaInternationalHardChina Zheng SaisaiCzech Republic Barbora Krejčíková Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková2–6, 6–3, [4–10]

WTA Challenger finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

ResultDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
LossSep 2014Suzhou Ladies Open, ChinaHardGermany Anna-Lena Friedsam1–6, 3–6

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Nov 2017Hua Hin Challenger, ThailandHardChina Wang YafanSlovenia Dalila Jakupović Russia Irina Khromacheva6–3, 6–3
Win2–0Apr 2018Zhengzhou Open, ChinaHardChina Wang YafanUnited Kingdom Naomi Broady Belgium Yanina Wickmayer7–6(5), 6–3
Loss2–1Apr 2019Kunming Open, ChinaClayChina Han XinyunChina Peng Shuai China Yang Zhaoxuan5–7, 2–6

ITF Circuit finals

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$50/60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 19 (11 titles, 8 runner-ups)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Feb 2009ITF Jiangmen, China10,000HardChina Xie Yanze6–2, 6–4
Win2–0May 2009ITF New Delhi, India10,000HardIsrael Keren Shlomo6–3, 6–4
Loss2–1Jun 2009ITF Xiamen, China25,000HardChina Zhang Shuai2–6, 1–6
Win3–1Mar 2010ITF Nanjing, China10,000HardChina Liu Wanting6–4, 7–6(6)
Win4–1Jun 2010ITF Hefei, China10,000HardChina Zheng Saisai6–3, 6–4
Loss4–2Aug 2010ITF Saitama, Japan10,000HardChinese Taipei Hsu Wen-hsin1–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss4–3Aug 2011ITF Saitama, Japan10,000HardJapan Ayumi Oka3–6, 4–6
Win5–3Feb 2012ITF Wellington, New Zealand25,000HardPoland Sandra Zaniewska6–1, 6–4
Win6–3May 2012ITF Changwon, Korea25,000HardHong Kong Zhang Ling6–4, 6–3
Win7–3May 2012ITF Gimcheon, Korea25,000HardSouth Africa Chanel Simmonds6–2, 6–1
Win8–3Jun 2012ITF Goyang, Korea25,000HardHong Kong Zhang Ling6–3, 6–3
Loss8–4Jul 2012ITF Evansville, United States10,000HardUnited States Mallory Burdette1–6, 2–6
Loss8–5Oct 2012Suzhou Ladies Open, China100,000HardChinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei2–6, 2–6
Win9–5May 2013ITF Goyang, Korea (2)25,000HardChina Liu Fangzhou6–3, 6–4
Win10–5Jun 2014ITF Xi'an, China50,000HardChina Zhu Lin4–6, 7–6(9), 6–4
Win11–5Jul 2015ITF Tianjin, China25,000HardChina Wang Qiang4–6, 7–6(2), 3–0 ret.
Loss11–6Jul 2015ITF Zhengzhou, China25,000HardChina Wang Yafan4–6, 4–6
Loss11–7Oct 2015Suzhou Ladies Open, China50,000HardChina Zhang Kailin6–1, 3–6, 4–6
Loss11–8May 2019Jin'an Open, China60,000HardChina Han Xinyun4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1May 2008ITF Khon Kaen, Thailand10,000HardChina Chen HuiSouth Korea Kim Sun-jung South Korea Lee Cho-won4–6, 6–4, [4–10]
Loss0–2Feb 2012ITF Sydney, Australia25,000HardChina Han XinyunAustralia Arina Rodionova United Kingdom Melanie South6–3, 3–6, [8–10]
Win1–2Jul 2012ITF Evansville, US10,000HardChina Xu YifanUnited States Mallory Burdette United States Natalie Pluskota6–2, 6–3
Loss1–3Jul 2016ITF Wuhan, China50,000HardChinese Taipei Chang Kai-chenJapan Shuko Aoyama Japan Makoto Ninomiya4–6, 4–6
Win2–3May 2019Kangaroo Cup Gifu, Japan80,000HardChina Han XinyunJapan Akiko Omae Thailand Peangtarn Plipuech6–3, 4–6, [10–4]
Win3–3Jun 2019Manchester Trophy, UK100,000GrassChina Zhu LinUnited States Robin Anderson Romania Laura Ioana Paar6–4, 6–3

External links