Chinese WNBA star out of World Cup after losing passport

Li Yueru of the Dallas Wings in action. [AFP]

China's WNBA star Li Yueru will miss the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Berlin after losing her passport in the mail.

"Li Yueru's passport was accidentally lost while being mailed in the United States," the Chinese Basketball Association said.

The document could not be found before the tournament's registration deadline, so Li was unable to travel to Germany, the association said.

The Women's Basketball World Cup starts today, with China meeting the United States in their first game.

"Unfortunately, I can't be with my sisters this time," the 27-year-old Li, who plays for the Dallas Wings, said on Chinese social media.

She thanked the association and embassies for helping with her search.

"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 on Instagram.

The 6-foot-7 centre joined the Dallas Wings in 2025 and represented China at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where she was the team's top scorer.

She previously played for the Seattle Storm, the Los Angeles Sparks and the Chicago Sky, as well as Chinese teams in Inner Mongolia and Guangdong.

Meanwhile, the NBA on Tuesday walloped the Los Angeles Clippers with a record $30 million fine, stripped the team of five first-round draft picks and banned owner Steve Ballmer for a year after a probe uncovered major salary cap violations involving star Kawhi Leonard.

The Clippers, who said they plan to fight the punishments, will forfeit a first-round NBA Draft pick every year from 2029 to 2033 after being found to have aided Leonard in evading salary cap rules in deals with team corporate sponsors when he signed in 2022.