Li Yueru, who plays for the Dallas Wings, will not be available for China after losing her passport while it was being mailed. The 27-year-old basketball star announced the news in a statement shared on Instagram, explaining that the missing document has prevented her from traveling to Berlin, Germany, to join her national team ahead of the tournament.
Yueru has been a key part of China's international success in recent years. She represented the country at the 2021 and 2024 Olympic Games and also competed at the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup, where China finished as runners-up and claimed the silver medal.
Her absence will leave China without an experienced player as the team prepares to face the United States in its opening World Cup matchup. The two teams are expected to be among the major contenders in the tournament, making Yueru's absence a significant setback for China.
In her statement, Yueru expressed how much representing China means to her and how disappointed she was to miss the opportunity to return to the national team.
"The national team have always made me feel valued and wanted, and it has always been a tremendous honor to represent China," Yueru said. "I was incredibly excited and looking forward to joining the national team again."
She explained that the passport was lost while in transit and has yet to be recovered. According to Yueru, she and those around her explored multiple options in an effort to resolve the situation and allow her to travel to Germany.
"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," she said.
Despite those efforts, the passport remained missing as of Wednesday, leaving Yueru unable to make the trip and officially ruling her out of China's World Cup campaign.
China will now have to adjust its plans and find ways to compensate for the absence of one of its most experienced international players. For Yueru, the situation means missing another opportunity to represent her country on one of basketball's biggest stages.
