Asian-American Spotlight: Claire Liu

May is Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month. To celebrate, USTA.com is taking a look at Asian-Americans past, present and future – those who have helped to shape the game, and those who could soon cement their place in it.

Here’s a closer look at 16-year-old up-and-coming star Claire Liu.

• Liu, who turns 17 on May 25, is currently at a career-high No. 7 in the ITF World Junior Rankings and No. 457 in the WTA rankings.
  
• The talented teen captured the second pro title of her career the week of May 8 at the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Naples, Fla. Liu, who qualified into the tournament, upset three seeded players and dropped only one set en route to the title.
  
• In April, Liu became the first player – boy or girl – in the 50-year history of the prestigious Easter Bowl junior tournament to win two 18s titles over a three-year span. She also captured the girls’ 18s championship in 2015 at the age of 14.
  
• Last year, Liu reached the girls’ singles quarterfinals and won the girls’ doubles title at Wimbledon (with Usue Arconada). She also reached the doubles quarterfinals at the US Open Junior Championships and practiced with the U.S. Fed Cup team in Hawaii as part of a junior Fed Cup camp run by USTA Player Development.
  
• In March 2015, Liu won her first professional singles title at the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Orlando, Fla. By winning the championship, the native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., became the youngest woman since Anna Kournikova in 1996 to win a USTA Pro Circuit tournament – at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 25 days old – and the sixth-youngest ever.
  
• Also in 2015, in addition to winning the girls’ 18s Easter Bowl title, she advanced to the quarterfinals at the Orange Bowl, one of the world’s most prestigious junior tournaments. She also reached the final round of qualifying at the US Open and played in the US Open mixed doubles main draw (with fellow rising star Taylor Fritz).