Li boosts Chinese wheelchair tennis power surge with Aussie Open title
Li Xiaohui continued the Chinese power surge within wheelchair tennis by claiming her maiden Grand Slam singles title with victory over Diede de Groot of Netherlands in the Australian Open wheelchair women’s final.
Li prevailed 6-1 6-2 to seal a defining win that will go some way to dampening her disappointment at losing her first Grand Slam singles final to Japan’s Yui Kamiji at the 2025 US Open.
The 26-year-old is the second Chinese player to win a Grand Slam wheelchair singles title after Wang Ziying conquered all before her in the wheelchair women’s draw at last year’s Wimbledon Wheelchair Championships.
“Last season, the strategy was not really super clear, in general,” said Li, who has returned to No. 2 in the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour singles rankings.
“Then this year we have done more problem-solving, so the strategy is clearer than it was last year. We are improving on the strategy part. Right now, we are at peace.”
For 23-time Grand Slam singles champion De Groot, this was her first appearance in a Grand Slam singles final after returning to the sport from an eight-month break following the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
This represents a significant step for the 29-year-old, although defeat did mean she missed out on some key milestones, not least a first Grand Slam singles title since Wimbledon in 2024.
Had she won, De Groot would have chalked up her seventh Australian Open singles title and equalled Dylan Alcott in third place for the most Australian Open wheelchair singles titles won across all categories.
It would have also taken her close to the all-time record for the most Grand Slam wheelchair singles titles won across all categories. De Groot currently has 24 to her name, while Shingo Kunieda, who heads the list, has 28.
Despite her immediate disappointment, De Groot's time will surely come again and she has returned to No. 4 in the women’s singles rankings for the first time since early June 2025.
All plaudits currently belong to Li and deservedly so.
A full list of results from the 2026 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships is available here.