This one hurts because, of all the reasons Li Yueru could miss the FIBA World Cup, nobody saw this one coming. With the tournament just two days away, Dallas Wings fans were ready to watch Paige Bueckers face her teammate when Team USA meets China on September 4. Now that matchup is dead before it even begins, and the reason makes the whole situation even more frustrating.

Yueru’s replacement passport was lost in the mail, leaving one of China’s key players unable to travel to Berlin for the World Cup. The bizarre mishap crushed fans hoping to see the Wings teammates go head-to-head.

“No! Was hoping to see Paige Bueckers versus Li Yueru at the 2026 FIBA World Cup! 😢😢😢,” a fan wrote under an ESPNW post on Instagram. “SOMEBODY BETTER FIND THIS LADY HER PASSPORT PRONTO!” another added.

It is a brutal blow for China. Yueru played at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and helped the team win silver at the 2022 World Cup. Now, China must enter the tournament without one of its most experienced frontcourt players.

“The national team have always made me feel valued and wanted, and it has always been a tremendous honor to represent China. I was incredibly excited and looking forward to joining the national team again,” she wrote in her Instagram Stories. “Unfortunately, my passport was lost in the mail, and still hasn’t been found. Throughout this time, we’ve all been working hard together and exploring every possible solution, but maybe we were just a little short on luck this time.”

“As of today, the passport is still missing.”

“Sometimes, disappointment is simply part of life. I’m sad that I won’t be able to be there this time, but I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me and continues to be supportive of Chinese women’s basketball. Thank you for all the love and support. See you on the world stage next time!❤️❤️❤️❤️,” she added.

But while Yueru was understandably disappointed, fans were already finding their own ways to make sense of the unusual situation.

“Take my passport! I’m not Chinese or American, but I’m Canadian and am just trying to help an Asian sister,” a fan added. Another speculated, “the idea that representatives from China couldn’t have straightened this out is laughable lmao has nothing to do with being on US soil or not… either the team doesn’t want her there, or she doesn’t want to be there 🤷🏻‍♂️”

Without Yueru, China will lean more heavily on New York Liberty center Han Xu in the frontcourt. For the Paige Bueckers-led Wings, though, her absence could provide an unexpected silver lining.

Dallas looked out of the playoff race after going 3-8 from late July to mid-August. But four straight wins pushed the Wings into the WNBA postseason.

That makes the World Cup break critical. Three Dallas players were expected to compete internationally before returning with little time to recover ahead of the WNBA postseason.

Paige Bueckers is representing the United States, while Alanna Smith is with Australia, and Yueru was expected to suit up for China. So with Yueru staying behind, Dallas will now only have to manage the workload of two players returning from the tournament.

Yueru has averaged 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game off the Wings’ bench this season. Drafted in 2019, she made her WNBA debut with the Chicago Sky in 2022 and is now playing her fourth season in the league.

One fan couldn’t help but look for a silver lining in this situation as well, as they wrote, “There is always a reason for why things happen, and maybe this is saving her from potential injury before playoffs.”

This is not FIBA’s first passport mess. In 2011, Daniel Santiago, Andrés Rodríguez, Renaldo Balkman and John Holland were stranded after their passports and visas vanished in the mail. The documents were eventually found at the Brazilian Embassy in Miami, allowing them to join Puerto Rico late. Yueru got no such rescue.

For Li Yueru, missing the World Cup is undoubtedly a disappointment. For the Wings, however, an unfortunate passport mishap could leave them with one fewer player needing to recover from international duty before the most important stretch of the season.