WTA pays tribute to trailblazer Latisha Chan

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The WTA on Wednesday celebrates the career of Latisha Chan Yung-Jan, as the Asian tennis trailblazer officially announces her retirement from professional tennis.

 

At 17 years old, Chan ranked No. 50 in singles, the year she fell to Flavia Pennetta in the final at Bangkok. But doubles became the platform where she would truly make her mark, capturing 33 titles from 59 finals -- including nine WTA 1000 events, and the 2017 US Open with Martina Hingis.

 

Beginning with her Grand Slam doubles debut as a wild card at the 2007 Australian Open -- she went all the way to the final with Chuang Chia-Jung -- Chan finished runner-up at three majors (also the 2007 US Open and the 2015 Australian Open). Additionally, she won three mixed doubles titles with Croatia's Ivan Dodig -- at Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019, and Wimbledon in 2019.

 

In 2017, Chan’s banner year, she captured no fewer than 11 doubles titles – two with her sister, Chan Hao-Ching (Angel), and nine with Hingis. On October 23 that year, Chan secured the No.1 ranking in doubles, becoming the second player from Chinese Taipei (after Hsieh Su-Wei) to reach the summit – a position she would hold for a total of 34 weeks. Among Asian players, only Sania Mirza, Hsieh and Ai Sugiyama have spent longer at the top.

 

A three-time semifinalist at the WTA Finals and four-time Olympian, in Billie Jean King Cup play Chan went 22-15 in singles and doubles. Across five editions of the Asian Games, she won nine medals (five gold, three silver, and one bronze), making her Chinese Taipei’s most decorated athlete in the prestigious regional competition.

 

Chan made her last Grand Slam appearance at 2023 Roland Garros, where she advanced to the quarterfinals alongside her sister. With 10 tour-level titles, Latisha and Angel are the most successful doubles sister-act in WTA history, after Venus and Serena Williams.

 

Chan, who leaves the sport with a doubles win-loss record of 572-277 and career prize money of nearly $6.2 million, is available for interviews on site at the 2026 Australian Open. In 2025, she completed a PhD in Transnational Sport Innovation Management at National Taiwan Sport University.