Lee Ka-yi is one of a group of Hong Kong players sitting in and around the top 50 in the world rankings. She broke into the world’s top 40 for the first time in September 2022 with a career high no.39 and started 2023 just outside that mark. Lee finished runner-up in the CSC Delaware Open in one of her early appearances in 2023, before then making it into the last 16 of the Chestnut Hill Classic. In her final preparation for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Lee reached the second round of the Qatar Classic in September before losing to Olivia Fiechter. She was a member of the Hong Kong team that clinched a silver medal in Hangzhou where she also captured a bronze medal in the newly introduced mixed doubles with Wong Chi-him. After making her first appearance on the tour in 2008, Lee waited three years for her first win in the main draw when reaching the quarterfinals of the Crocodile Challenger Cup. Her first appearance in a final came in 2015, at the Contrex Challenger Cup. She lifted the title after defeating compatriot Ho Tze-lok in the final. The Hong Konger had to wait until 2019 for that elusive second title though, as she lifted the China Suqian International Classic trophy. The win, along with a first match win at the U.S. Open Championships, saw her break into the top 50 for the first time.