Ann Li fought back against Taylah Preston to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Nottingham
Ann Li continued her grass-court campaign in Nottingham with a victory that required patience, adaptation and a clear rise in level after a weaker start to the match. In the second-round match of the WTA 250 Lexus Nottingham Open, played on Thursday, 18 June 2026, the American tennis player defeated Australian representative Taylah Preston 5:7, 6:2, 6:2. According to the official WTA draw and the Tennis.com match page, Li lost the first set, but then took control and secured a place among the final eight players with two convincing sets. The victory is especially important because Nottingham is part of the short but competitively extremely sensitive grass-court season, a period in which form changes quickly and every reaction after a lost set carries additional weight. The WTA described Li's performance as her progress into her first quarterfinal on grass, which further emphasizes the sporting significance of this result in her season.
Preston won the first set, then Li completely changed the rhythm
The start of the match belonged to Taylah Preston, who closed the first set 7:5 and thereby put the fifth seed under pressure. Such a development was not surprising in the context of grass-court play, where short rallies, low bounces and the importance of the first shot often allow lower-ranked or less experienced players to impose their own tempo quickly. Preston managed to seize her opportunity in the closing stages of the first set, while Li had to look for a more stable response to the Australian tennis player's serve and return shots. According to the official score, that part of the match was the only one in which Preston kept the scoreboard advantage until the end of the set. Still, after losing the opening part, Li gradually reduced the number of fluctuations and found a pattern of play that gave her a clear advantage later on.
The second set showed how quickly the dynamics of a grass-court match can change when one player finds a better rhythm on return and in the first two shots after the serve. Li won the set 6:2, which not only leveled the score but also sent the message that she had found a solution for Preston's game. During that phase of the match, the American tennis player was more decisive, protected her service games better and more often forced her opponent into defensive reactions. According to the set sequence published by the WTA, the second and third sets ended by the same margin, indicating that after the initial deficit Li had a sustainable advantage, not just a brief run of good points. The third set confirmed the comeback: Li again prevailed 6:2 and closed the match without the need for additional drama in the closing stages.
The fifth seed justified her status, but with a serious test
Ann Li competed in Nottingham as the fifth seed, which, according to the official WTA list, reflected her position in the draw and the expectations at the tournament. But seeded status alone is no guarantee of a smooth passage, especially on grass, where the differences between players are often visible only in a few key points. In the first round, Li had already had to play three sets against Kimberly Birrell, whom she defeated 4:6, 7:6, 6:4 according to the official WTA draw. Two consecutive comebacks in Nottingham can be read both as a sign of dangerous fluctuations and as evidence of competitive resilience. In both cases, Li showed that in conditions that leave little time for adjustment, she can come back after losing the first set.
According to her WTA profile, Li is a 25-year-old American player, and at the time of the profile update she was listed as the world No. 29 in singles. In her biography, the WTA states that she has won two WTA titles, in Tenerife in 2021 and Guangzhou in 2025, and that her highest ranking is also No. 29. It is particularly interesting that in the same profile the WTA states that grass is her favorite surface for competition, which gives the victory in Nottingham additional context. Although professional tennis does not allow reliance solely on surface preferences, success in a match like this can have psychological value in weeks in which every grass-court victory is directly connected with preparation for Wimbledon. For Li, this was a result that combines progress to the next stage with confirmation that on this surface she can withstand pressure when a match begins to move in an unfavorable direction.
Taylah Preston showed why she is a dangerous opponent
Taylah Preston ended her campaign in the second round, but the defeat does not erase the fact that in Nottingham she made use of the opportunity that opened up for her in the main draw. According to the official WTA player list, Preston entered the tournament as a lucky loser, which means that after qualifying she received a place in the main draw due to changes in the tournament field. Such an entry often creates a specific dynamic: the player already has matches on the surface and a competitive rhythm, but at the same time must quickly adapt to a new role and a stronger opponent profile. In the first round, according to the WTA draw, Preston defeated Anna Blinkova 4:6, 6:3, 6:3, and against Li she continued a run of matches in which she opened well, but this time failed to maintain her level until the end. The first set against the fifth seed showed that her game can be very uncomfortable, especially when she succeeds in entering the point early and shortening her opponent's reaction time.
According to her WTA profile, Preston is a 20-year-old Australian tennis player, and at the time of the published data she was ranked 124th in singles. Her professional path so far is still in the building phase, without a WTA title, but with results showing that she can compete with higher-ranked players. In Nottingham, she had a concrete argument in the first set against Li, but from the second set onward she did not find an answer to the change of rhythm. For a young player, such defeats often have a dual value: they end a tournament in terms of results, but provide a clear picture of the elements that need to be maintained throughout an entire match. Preston left the tournament with one main-draw win and a set against a highly placed seed, which is a relevant indicator of competitiveness in the grass-court part of the season.
Nottingham as an important stop before Wimbledon
The Lexus Nottingham Open is played at the Nottingham Tennis Centre in the United Kingdom, and according to the official WTA overview it is a WTA 250-category tournament on outdoor grass courts. The WTA states that the 2026 tournament is held from 15 to 21 June and that the singles draw includes 32 players, while 16 teams compete in doubles. The same source describes Nottingham as an important stop on the road to Wimbledon, which is especially significant in the women's tennis calendar because the period between the end of Roland Garros and the start of the London Grand Slam is short. Grass-court tournaments are therefore not only an opportunity for points and prize money, but also for adapting movement, serve, return and more aggressive point-finishing. In that framework, Li's victory over Preston has broader significance than simply reaching the quarterfinals.
The grass surface in Nottingham traditionally demands quick decisions and stability in the opening shots, and that was visible in this match as well. After the first set, Li had to find a way to reduce Preston's effectiveness in short rallies, while Preston had to prove that she could maintain pressure over three sets against a player with more experience in the closing stages of WTA tournaments. According to the final score, the second task proved more difficult. Li built an advantage in the continuation of the match that did not depend on one isolated game, but on a more stable overall performance. Precisely this kind of match development is common in matches in which the favorite survives the opponent's initial blow and then imposes a higher average level.
In the quarterfinal against Viktorija Golubic
The official WTA draw shows that Ann Li will play in the quarterfinal against Swiss tennis player Viktorija Golubic. Golubic defeated Zeynep Sonmez 7:5, 4:6, 6:4 in the second round, which means that she too reached the last eight after a demanding three-set match. Such a schedule brings an interesting duel between players who in Nottingham have already had to go through competitive stress and show the ability to recover after losing periods of play. For Li, the quarterfinal will be an opportunity to confirm the value of two consecutive comebacks, but also to try to avoid the slow start to a match that has twice forced her to chase the score. For Golubic, the encounter with the fifth seed will be a test of whether she can turn her variety, experience and feel for changing rhythm into an advantage on grass.
The quarterfinal pairing Li – Golubic fits into the closing stage of the tournament which, according to the WTA draw, entered the final-eight phase on 19 June 2026. In that part of the week, every match gains additional weight because the differences in points, confidence and preparation for the continuation of the grass-court season become increasingly visible. Li will enter that encounter with a clear gain from the duel against Preston: she proved that she can stay calm after losing a set and that she can raise her level of play when her opponent takes the initiative first. Still, the same victory also shows an area for caution, because against a more experienced opponent a slow start can be more costly than it was in the second round. Nottingham will therefore be both a chance for a result and a test of how quickly the American tennis player can impose from the start the tennis that brought her the comeback against Preston.
Sources:
- WTA Official – official draw of the Lexus Nottingham Open 2026 tournament, including the Ann Li – Taylah Preston result and the Li – Golubic quarterfinal pairing (link)
- WTA Official – overview of the Lexus Nottingham Open 2026 tournament, category, surface, location and dates of staging (link)
- WTA Official – Ann Li profile, biographical data, ranking and career results (link)
- WTA Official – profile and match data for Taylah Preston, ranking and basic competitive data (link)
- Tennis.com – match page for Ann Li against Taylah Preston in the second round of WTA Nottingham 2026 (link)
- LTA – official results and information centre for the Lexus Nottingham Open (link)