Ann Li has slowly but surely been assembling a very impressive 2026 season. Just a few days ago in Strasbourg, she managed to do one of those wins that really make you take note. Coming from a set behind, she defeated No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in three very tough sets. It seems like the 25-year-old American finally resembles the player that she was expected to be back in 2022. But really, her journey wasn’t centered on tennis. It was two immigrants who crossed the ocean and created something from the beginning. Here are Feng Li and Jianchao Li.

Who are Ann Li’s parents?

Feng Li and Jianchao Li are Ann Li’s parents. Both are Chinese immigrants who came to the United States looking for a better life. But here’s the thing about Ann’s family: sports basically run in their veins. Her aunt was a professional speed skater. Her father? He played soccer in college. Her mother? She ran track in college. Yeah, the athletic genes are definitely real.

Ann isn’t an only child. She has an older brother named Fred Li, and wouldn’t you know it, he plays tennis too. So you can bet there were some pretty intense driveway conversations about forehand technique in that household.

What do Feng and Jianchao do for a living? Honestly, they’ve kept that part pretty quiet. Neither of them had a tennis background; they knew almost nothing about the sport when Ann started playing at age five. And yet, they figured it out. As for giving back to the community? Ann has spoken about how her parents sacrificed everything so she could chase this dream. Their way of giving back was raising a kid who now represents the Chinese-American community on the global stage.

Where did Feng Li and Jianchao meet?

Now here’s the part that’s genuinely tricky. We know Ann Li’s parents are both Chinese immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania before she was born in King of Prussia in 2000. But exactly how and where Feng and Jianchao crossed paths? That story hasn’t been told publicly yet.

Here’s what we can piece together. Both attended college in China before making the leap to the U.S. They were both athletes, soccer and track, so it’s very possible their love for competition brought them together. Maybe at a university sporting event. Maybe through mutual friends who shared their immigrant dreams. The details are fuzzy, and frankly, Ann has kept her family’s origin story largely private.

Some things are meant to stay behind closed doors, right? What we do know is this: they ended up in Pennsylvania, started a family, and somehow had two kids who would become tennis prodigies. That’s not luck. That’s a plan.

What ethnicity are Ann Li’s parents?

Let’s get straight to it. Feng Li and Jianchao Li are both Chinese. They are Chinese immigrants who left their homeland to build a new life in the United States. Ann was born in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, making her an American citizen by birth. But she’s never forgotten where she came from.

In fact, she’s spoken openly about her dual identity. “I am 100 percent Chinese by heritage, but I am both Chinese and American,” she once told China Daily. “And when it comes to competing, I am definitely for the US team.” That’s a powerful statement.

She embraces both sides fully, her Chinese roots and her American upbringing. And honestly, that blend of cultures has probably helped her on tour. She moves between worlds. She adapts. Sound like a good skill for a tennis player? Yeah, absolutely.

Inside Ann Li’s relationship with her parents

Ann Li’s bond with her parents is tight, but not in a flashy, Instagram-story kind of way. It’s the quiet kind of close. Her parents have mostly stayed behind in Pennsylvania while she trains at the USTA Campus in Orlando or travels the world. That distance isn’t easy. But they gave her the foundation.

They taught her to work hard without complaining. She’s said that watching Li Na win Grand Slams helped her believe, but her parents? They helped her actually do it. You can feel that gratitude every time she talks about them. No dramatic speeches. Just respect.

The match against Alexandrova was just an appetizer. Ann is now in the quarterfinals after this big win, and she is really on fire. But there is more; she has always done well on clay. The French Open will soon take place, and Ann could not have had better timing to get such confidence. Is she going to make it to the Top 50 again? Or even aim higher, and get into the Top 30, which she had set out to achieve before this season? It would be wise not to underestimate her.