Li Na
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| Ein sex anaa gender | female  |
|---|---|
| Ein country of citizenship | China |
| Country for sport | China |
| Name in native language | 李娜 |
| Name wey dem give am | Na |
| Family name | Li |
| Ein date of birth | 26 February 1982 |
| Place dem born am | Wuhan |
| Ein poppie | Li Shengpeng |
| Mummie | Li Yanping |
| Spouse | Shan Jiang |
| Languages edey speak, rep anaa sign | Chinese, English |
| Ein occupation | tennis player, autobiographer |
| Educate for | Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business |
| Residence | Wuhan |
| Start of work period | 1999 |
| End of work period | 19 September 2014 |
| Member give sports team | China Billie Jean King Cup team |
| Sport | tennis |
| Sports discipline competed in | tennis singles, tennis doubles |
| Singles record | 503–188 |
| Doubles record | 121–50 |
| Handedness | right-handedness |
| Playing hand | right-handedness, two-handed backhand |
| Participant insyd | tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics, tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2006 Asian Games, 2010 Asian Games |
| Award e receive | International Tennis Hall of Fame |
Li Na (born 26 February 1982) be a Chinese former professional tennis player. Na she be ranked world No. 2 insyd women's singles by de Women's Tennis Association, she achieve insyd February 2014. Li win nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, wey dey include two majors at de 2011 French Open (defeating de defending champion Francesca Schiavone) den 2014 Australian Open. She be de first major singles champion dem born insyd Asia, male anaa female. Li sanso be de runner-up at de 2011 Australian Open, 2013 Australian Open, den de 2013 WTA Tour Championships.
A trailblazer for tennis insyd China, na Li be de first Chinese player to win a WTA Tour title (at de 2004 Guangzhou International Women's Open), de first to reach a major singles quarterfinal (at de 2006 Wimbledon Championships) den final, den de first to break into de world's top ten. By 2013, na ein accomplishments make am de most successful Asian tennis player of ein time, landing am on Time magazine ein list of 100 Most Influential People insyd de World. Na former world No. 1 Chris Evert wrep der: "Tennis has exploded in China. The country now has some 15 million tennis players; 116 million watched Li win the French Open. That kind of exposure is crucial to our sport, and it never would have happened without Li."[1]
Li retire from tennis insyd September 2014, at age 32 as de reigning Australian Open champion secof injury complications. Insyd 2019, na dem induct am into de International Tennis Hall of Fame, becoming de first Asian player to receive dis honor.
Tennis career
[edit | edit source]At age six, Li follow ein poppie ein footsteps wey she start dey play badminton, wich hone ein reflexes.[2] Just before she turn eight, na dem persuade Li to switch to tennis by coach Xia Xiyao of de Wuhan youth tennis club.[3] Ein instructors teach tennis thru negative reinforcement, wich affect Li ein confidence insyd later years.[4] Li join China ein National Tennis Team insyd 1997. De following year, Li, wey Nike sponsor go to John Newcombe Academy insyd Texas to study tennis.[5] She study der for ten months wey she return to China.[6] Growing up, na ein favourite tennis player be Andre Agassi.[7] She turn professional insyd 1999 at de age of sixteen.
At de end of 2002, Li lef de national tennis team to study part-time at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), wer she plete ein bachelor's degree insyd journalism insyd 2009. De Chinese media cite various reasons for dis. Sam report say de relationship between ein den ein teammate den future husbie, Jiang Shan (姜山), be opposed by de national team ein management,[8] sam report say na ein coach, Yu Liqiao (余丽桥), be too strict den demanding, while oda reports claim say na ein request for a personal coach no go thru.[9][10] However, sam regard say na e be just de health problem leading to de retirement.[11] De New York Times report say na one of de reasons be say a team leader wan am to play thru by taking hormone medicine[12] as Li struggle plus ein performance secof hormone imbalance.[13] She later tell CNN say na she feel sick every day wey na she no wan ein life to be give tennis per.[14]
Li return to de national team insyd 2004 to "give back" for dema help during ein earlier career.[14] On January 27, 2006, Li marry Jiang Shan wey then cam be ein personal coach. Li quit de national team[15] as well as de state-run sports system insyd 2008 under an experimental reform policy give tennis players. Na dem call dis change "Fly Solo" (单飞) by Chinese media.[8][16] As a result, na Li get de freedom to hire ein own coaching staff wey she go be solely responsible for de cost of training den coaching den tour expense. She fi keep more of win winnings,[17] plus only twelve percent of ein winnings go to de Chinese Tennis Association development fund as opposed to 65 percent previously.[14] Insyd de summer of 2012, na dem lift de requirement of contribution to de Chinese tennis development fund wey na Li keep all ein prize money.[18]
On 5 June 2016, na dem commission Li by Special Olympics as a Global Ambassador.[19]
1999–2002: Dominance on de ITF Circuit
[edit | edit source]Li turn professional insyd 1999, wey she win three of de first four singles tournaments she enter on de ITF Circuit, two at Shenzhen den one at Westende, Belgium. She sanso win all of ein first seven ITF doubles tournaments she enter.
Insyd 2000, she wun 52 singles matches on de ITF Circuit, more dan any oda player, notching anoda eight tournament titles, wey dey include one at de $50k level, two at $25k, den a run of four $10k tournament wins insyd March den April.
Notable individual victories insyd de course of de year include wins over Flavia Pennetta, Emmanuelle Gagliardi, Maria Elena Camerin, Tamarine Tanasugarn den Yayuk Basuki.
Insyd June, after Li ein world ranking rise to No. 136 on de strength of ein ITF performances alone, she gain direct entry into ein first WTA Tour event at Tashkent. Despite winning de first set, Li loose ein first WTA singles match to Anna Zaporozhanova insyd three sets, buh she capture de women's doubles title at Tashkent plus Li Ting against Zaporozhanova den Iroda Tulyaganova.
By de end of 2000, Li win four WTA Tour singles matches, dis bring ein cumulative ITF singles title count up to eleven. Dat year, she sanso win seven more ITF doubles events, six of dem plus Li Ting.
Na Li mostly be absent from de tour insyd 2001. She further win two $25k singles tournaments, defeating Roberta Vinci insyd de final at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, den Liu Nannan insyd de final at Guangzhou insyd July, buh she then play only one further match for de rest of de year, leading ein ranking to fall to No. 303 by de year's close.
She win ein 15th career ITF doubles tournament at Hangzhou insyd March.
Insyd 2002, she cam thru qualifying to win ein first $75k singles tournament at Midland, United States insyd February, defeating Laura Granville, Tatiana Perebiynis, den Mashona Washington en route to de title, de 14th of ein career. Buh she then play only one more match (a loss to Zuzana Ondrášková insyd de $50k event at Dinan, France dat April), wey a lengthy absence from de circuit follow for de next 25 months.
Sources vary as to de causes of dis absence, de Chinese media mostly cite de conflict between ein den de China's National Tennis Team's administration den coaching staff.[9][10][11][20] Sam claim say she just wan a break from professional tennis so she fi concentrate on ein studies at university.
2004–2005: Successful return to professional tennis
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Insyd May 2004, Li return to competition after she no play since 2002. Although na she be unranked, she win 26 successive matches to notch three further $25k tournament wins den anoda $50k title, increasing ein career singles title count to 18, only to have ein winning streak finally snapped by Evgenia Linetskaya insyd de semifinal of de $50k Bronx tournament dat August. However, she win ein 16th ITF doubles tournament at de same event, de 17th overall doubles title of ein career.
Dat September, she loose insyd de final of a $25k tournament to compatriot Zheng Jie, before returning to de WTA Tour, thanks to a wildcard entry into qualifying at Beijing. Der, she defeat Antonella Serra Zanetti, Marta Domachowska, den Nicole Pratt before losing insyd de deciding-set tie-break after a very close second-round main-draw tussle against newly crowned US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, during wich she hold match points against Kuznetsova. De Russian afterwards praise ein Chinese opponent, dey state say na she feel as though na she be up against a top-five player.
De very next week, Li battle ein way thru qualifying into de WTA Tour event at Guangzhou (a Tier IV event at de time, though since e be upgraded to Tier III), then beat Vera Dushevina, Jelena Janković, Kristina Brandi, den Li Ting insyd de main draw to reach de final, wer na she overcam Martina Suchá to win ein first WTA Tour title. By doing so, Li cam be de first Chinese player to win a WTA event.[21]
On de back of de ranking points she accrue thru dis result, on 4 October 2004, she break into de WTA top 100 for de first time.
To cap off ein most successful year as a singles player yet, she compete insyd two $50k tournaments at Shenzhen, winning de first outright to bring am de 19th ITF singles title den 20th overall singles title of ein career, buh she loose insyd de quarterfinals of de second to lower-ranked country-woman Yan Zi. Dese results elevate Li Na to world No. 80 by de close of de year, a year insyd wich she won 51 singles matches wey she loose just four.
2005 see Li finally abandoning de ITF Circuit to focus solely on tour-level events. She begin de year plus a second-round performance at Gold Coast den a semifinal showing at Hobart, buh she loose to fellow Chinese player den eventual tournament champion Zheng Jie. She then make ein Grand Slam debut at de 2005 Australian Open, advancing to de third round with wins over Laura Granville den Shinobu Asagoe before losing to Maria Sharapova. Insyd early February, she reach de quarterfinals at Hyderabad wey she qualify for Doha wer she narrowly be beaten by Patty Schnyder insyd de first round of de main draw. After a victory over Ai Sugiyama insyd de first round at Dubai de following week, na e sanso be Schnyder wey stop am from reaching de later stages of de event.
After taking a month off from competition, Li return at Estoril insyd late April, defeating Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, Nicole Pratt, Dally Randriantefy, den then crushing Dinara Safina to reach ein second WTA Tour final. Na dem deny Li de title by Czech qualifier Lucie Šafářová, wey prevail insyd a close three-set match. At Rabat insyd May, Li reach de semifinal stage, buh further success ultimately prove elusive give am. Plus de score level at 3–3, she retire secof a right ankle sprain while clashing plus Zheng Jie. Reaching dis semifinal propell am to a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33, buh de injury na she sustain be destined to keep am out of action for de next three months. On ein return at Los Angeles insyd August, she fall insyd de first round to Anna Chakvetadze of Russia. De following week, however, at de Canadian Open, she once more beat Jelena Janković den María Vento-Kabchi, before losing to Nadia Petrova insyd de third round.
Na e be Lindsay Davenport wey prove ein undoing insyd ein next two tournaments, beating am insyd de first round of de US Open, den at de semifinal stage insyd Bali insyd September, buh no be before Li Na avenge ein previous year's defeat by Yan Zi insyd de second round of de same tournament. De following week, anoda highly ranked American player, Jill Craybas, narrowly defeat Li Na insyd a close three-set first-round match at Beijing. Li commence ein defense of ein Guangzhou title; buh na she be prevented from completing am insyd de quarterfinals by eventual champion Yan Zi, wey thereby edge out in front insyd dema head-to-head record once again. Dis second loss insyd three head-to-heads against Yan prove to be Li ein last match of 2005; den insyd ein absence from de Shenzhen $50k tournaments wer na she notch up sam ranking points late de previous year, she find einself slipping further insyd de rankings from de high point of No. 33 wey na she reach insyd de spring before ein injury break, to No. 56 at de year's close.
2006: First Chinese major quarterfinalist
[edit | edit source]With nearly all ein remaining ranking points to defend concentrated insyd a little over de first four months of de year, Li begin de year faced plus de challenge of equaling ein strong results from de early part of 2005 in order to maintain ein position insyd de middle reaches of de WTA top 100. Early-round draws against high-ranked players towards de beginning of 2006 take a heavy toll on Li ein singles ranking, wey dey bring am slipping down to No. 71 by de end of February.
She return plus a career-best performance at Tier I events by reaching de semifinal at Berlin. On de way der, she achieve ein first victory over a current top-10-ranked player as she oust Patty Schnyder for de first time at de quarterfinal stage. However, dis match lef am plus a muscle sprain, wey she loose to Nadia Petrova insyd de semifinal. Nonetheless, ein performance at dis high-level tournament see am ranked No. 39. Joining de WTA Tour grass-court season for de first time at de Birmingham Classic insyd June, she manage anoda third-round finish plus wins over Mashona Washington den grass-court specialist Eleni Daniilidou, both insyd straight sets, then she loose for de third time insyd three meetings to Maria Sharapova. Na ein ranking following dis tournament be No. 30, wich na e be at dat time de highest ever ranking wey a Chinese woman achieve.
At de same event, partnering Jelena Janković, she notch up ein second career WTA doubles title, almost exactly six years from ein first at Tashkent. An early retirement against Alona Bondarenko insyd de first round of de Ondina Open at 's-Hertogenbosch de following week curtail ein final competitive preparations for ein debut appearance at Wimbledon. Buh plus an entry ranking of 30th, she find einself seeded 27th after sam withdrawals, den thus she achieve anoda first give ein country in becoming de first Chinese woman wey ever be seeded for entry into a Grand Slam tournament.
At Wimbledon, she reach de fourth round plus comfortable straight-sets wins over respected grass-court players Virginie Razzano den recent Birmingham semifinalist Meilen Tu, wey victory follow against 10th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, resulting in am being de first Chinese player ever to reach any Grand Slam quarterfinal.[21] Li rise to a new career-high WTA ranking of No. 20 following de tournament, even though she ultimately loose ein quarterfinal match against Kim Clijsters insyd two close sets. She reach de quarterfinals at Stockholm, den de fourth round at de US Open, wer, as de 24th seed, she be beaten by eventual champion Maria Sharapova insyd two sets. She then reach de quarterfinals at de China Open, wer she be beaten by Svetlana Kuznetsova, den insyd Guangzhou.
2007–2009
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Li start de year by participating at Tier III event insyd Gold Coast, Australia, wer she reach de second round. De next week, she compete insyd Sydney. She defeat Francesca Schiavone insyd de first round, Elena Dementieva insyd de second, saving five match points, den Katarina Srebotnik insyd de quarterfinal. Then, she make am to de semifinals, losing a tough match to Kim Clijsters, 5–7 insyd de third set. However, she rise to a career high of No. 16 afterwards.
Li Na follow ein strong showing at Sydney plus an equally strong showing at de Australian Open, wer she advance to de fourth round. Seeded 19th, Li dispatch Elena Bovina den Lourdes Domínguez Lino insyd straight sets thru de first two rounds, wey dey lead to a matchup plus No. 9 Dinara Safina. Na dem postpone de match secof rain, buh Li handily beat Safina to advance to de fourth round to play Swiss star, No. 6 Martina Hingis. Secof a rain delay den de fact say Hingis play on Rod Laver Arena, a roofed court, on de originally scheduled day, Hingis get an extra day of rest. De match de previous day seem to have no effect, as Li take de first set from Hingis. However, Na fade as de match go on wey she loose while committing 69 unforced errors. Despite de loss, na de tournament be a success give Li, as e mark de third straight time insyd a Grand Slam wey she advance at least to de fourth round.
At de Tier I Pan Pacific Open insyd Tokyo, Li advance to de second round, defeating Lilia Osterloh before losing to Samantha Stosur insyd two sets, converting zero of eleven break points. At de important Indian Wells Open insyd California, Li make a strong showing, advancing to de semifinals. She loose to Daniela Hantuchová insyd de semifinal. She continue ein good form at de Miami Open, losing just three games insyd ein first two matches against Tamira Paszek den Katarina Srebotnik, before stunning fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters insyd three sets. She then loose insyd de quarterfinals to Anna Chakvetadze.
She then move onto de green clay of Amelia Island, wer she suffer a shock second-round exit, after receiving a first round bye, to former top-20 player Karolina Šprem insyd straight sets. At de Family Circle Cup dem hold insyd Charleston, South Carolina, she fall insyd de third round to Anabel Medina Garrigues. After losing insyd a grass tune-up event insyd Birmingham, Li pull out of every tournament na she for play insyd de summer, wey dey include Wimbledon den de US Open, dey cite a rib injury.
Na Li no play a professional match insyd half a year wey na she resultantly slip to No. 29 insyd de WTA rankings wen she return from ein rib injury insyd January 2008 to compete at de Australian Women's Hardcourts insyd Gold Coast. Insyd de first round, she narrowly defeat seventh seed Sybille Bammer. After a comfortable second round victory over wildcard Monique Adamczak, na dem draw am to meet de top seed Nicole Vaidišová insyd de quarterfinals. Li win dema encounter insyd straight sets, advancing to de semifinals, wer she edge past Patty Schnyder.[22] Insyd de final, she narrowly prevail against Victoria Azarenka, she no only end ein three-year title drought (since Guangzhou 2004) buh she score ein second career singles title.
Despite rising back up to world No. 24 following dis victory, she then withdraw from de 2008 Sydney International, after she suffer a right knee injury. Ein failure to defend ein previous year ein semifinal performance at dis event cost am 125 ranking points, wich dip ein ranking back down to No. 30 for de week beginning 14 January. Going into de 2008 Australian Open, she get a further 140 ranking points to defend from ein fourth-round performance insyd 2007. Faced plus a relatively lenient draw insyd de early rounds, she survive a close three-set tussle plus Séverine Brémond insyd de first round, before surpassing Maria Elena Camerin insyd straight sets insyd round two. A revitalised Marta Domachowska remain between am den de defence of ein ranking points, den although Li win de first set convincingly, she falter thereafter wey she finally cede de match to ein Polish opponent by a single break of serve insyd de closely fought deciding set.
Having slip three places to world No. 33 by de time na she enter de Tier II tournament at Antwerp insyd early February, she nonetheless progress to de semifinals plus back-to-back-to-back straight-sets wins over Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva, Slovak world No. 45 Dominika Cibulková, den on-form Swedish world No. 66 Sofia Arvidsson. However, she wither insyd de semifinals against world No. 47, Karin Knapp, despite she take an early lead plus a break of service insyd de first set, ultimately ceding de match to ein Italian opponent insyd two sets. Dis tournament bring am back up within de top 30 at world No. 29.
De next week at de Tier I Qatar Open, Li san meet Likhovtseva insyd de first round. Dis time, after taking de first set comfortably, na she be challenged to a much tougher battle, buh she eventually win insyd three sets. Insyd round two, she score ein second straight-sets victory insyd four career head-to-heads against Russian world No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze, saving a set point insyd de first set tie-break, before recovering to win. Insyd de third round, she enjoy a more comfortable victory over Israeli world No. 17, Shahar Pe'er, recovering from a 1–3 deficit insyd de second set. Insyd de quarterfinals, she meet ein old rival den paddie, world No. 4 Jelena Janković, coming into de match plus a winning 3–1 head-to-head record to ein credit against de Serbian player. By defeating Janković she extend dis record to 4–1 wey she move into de semifinals, wer she play Vera Zvonareva, against whom she win both of ein previous encounters. Despite taking de first set, Li loose de second by de same scoreline; den although she be 3–2 up insyd de final set, she then cede four successive games to ein opponent to loose de match.
Na ein ranking rise back to No. 23 on de strength of dis performance, na she be prevented from consolidating on dis recovery by suffering a right knee injury, wich force am to pull out of ein scheduled entries into both de Tier II event at Bangalore insyd early March den de Tier I tournament at Indian Wells insyd de middle of de month. She return to action at de International Women's Open insyd Eastbourne, winning one round before she loose to Nadia Petrova. She then contest Wimbledon, wey she defeat Anastasia Rodionova before she loose to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
At de Beijing Olympics, following early-round victories against world No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ayumi Morita, den Kaia Kanepi, she go on to defeat one of de favourites, Venus Williams, insyd de quarterfinals. Na Li dey trail 1–4 insyd de first set, buh she manage to strengthen ein game to win insyd straight sets. Li loose ein semifinal match to sixth seed Dinara Safina wey na she then be defeated insyd de bronze final by Vera Zvonareva. At de following US Open, Li be defeated by de Beijing Olympics gold medalist Elena Dementieva insyd de fourth round.
Insyd de 2008 Stuttgart Grand Prix, de unseeded Li defeat top ranked Serena Williams insyd de second round insyd three sets. Li thus cam be only de second Chinese player to defeat a world No. 1 player, following Zheng Jie ein victory over Ana Ivanovic at Wimbledon insyd 2008.
Li withdraw from both de inaugural Brisbane International, wer na she be defending champion (as she win de title at Gold Coast insyd 2008), den de 2009 Australian Open secof a right-knee injury. She make ein comeback at de Paris Indoors. Insyd de first round, she beat Ágnes Szávay, buh insyd de second round she loose to second-seeded Jelena Janković.
Insyd de first round of de Dubai Championships, Li loose to Elena Vesnina insyd three sets. Unseeded at de Monterrey Open, she defeat world No. 10 den top seed Agnieszka Radwańska insyd a first round match wey last over two hours. Insyd de second round, she beat Petra Cetkovská wey she then advance to de semifinals after defeating Lucie Šafářová. Li then move into ein fifth career tour final, after beating sixth-seeded Iveta Benešová. However, Li loose to second-seeded Marion Bartoli insyd de final insyd straight sets. She play insyd de Premier event at Indian Wells, wer she defeat Tamarine Tanasugarn, Patty Schnyder, den Amélie Mauresmo, all insyd straight sets, to advance to de fourth round, wer she loose to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.
She then reach de quarterfinals of de Premier event insyd Miami, wer she beat qualifier Urszula Radwańska insyd de first round den upset 29th seed Aleksandra Wozniak to reach de third round, wer she cause a big upset by defeating de previous week ein Indian Wells champion, sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva insyd three sets. Na dis victory particularly be important give Li, as she be beaten by Zvonareva de week before at Indian Wells. She then face unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova insyd de fourth round wey she beat am insyd three sets to set up a quarterfinal match plus de top seed den world No. 1, Serena Williams, a match wich she loose insyd a tight three-setter. Secof ein strong performance, ein ranking go up to world No. 29 from world No. 40.
Na Li ein next event be de second Grand Slam of de year, de French Open insyd Paris. As de 25th seed, she win ein first round against Marta Domachowska. She then defeat Timea Bacsinszky den Olga Govortsova. She then loose to unseeded former world No. 1, Maria Sharapova, insyd de fourth round. After dis impressive result, she jump up to No. 20. She start ein grass-court season as de fourth seed at de Birmingham Classic wey she advance to de final plus a win over Maria Sharapova insyd de semifinals. However, na Na be defeated by Magdaléna Rybáriková insyd de final. Na Li be seeded 19th at de 2009 Wimbledon Championships. She defeat Galina Voskoboeva insyd de first round den Olga Govortsova insyd de second round, buh she loose to No. 11 Agnieszka Radwańska insyd de third round.
At de 2009 Bank of de West Classic, she loose to Serena Williams insyd de first round, den at de LA Women's Championships, she withdraw secof injury during ein match plus Urszula Radwańska of Poland. Seeded 18th at de US Open, she reach ein first US Open quarterfinals, wer she loose to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. En route to de quarterfinals, she defeat Raluca Olaru, Michelle Larcher de Brito, Maria Kirilenko, den Francesca Schiavone all insyd straight sets. Seeded 15th at de Pan Pacific Open, Li win ein opening match against Alizé Cornet. She then defeat Vera Dushevina before she beat Kateryna Bondarenko. Insyd de quarterfinal, she defeat Victoria Azarenka insyd three sets, na two of wich be tiebreaks, though she fail in serving for de match twice insyd de last set. Li loose insyd de semifinals to Jelena Janković weu she fini de year at world No. 15, ein then-career-high year-end ranking.
2010: First major semifinal den ascent to top ten
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Na Li ein first tournament of 2010 be de Classic insyd Auckland, wer na she be seeded second. She be defeated by Kaia Kanepi insyd de first round. Insyd Sydney, she defeat fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki buh she loose to Flavia Pennetta insyd de second round.
Li be seeded 16th at de Australian Open. She defeat world No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki insyd de fourth round wey she then cam from a set den 3–5 down to defeat world No. 6 Venus Williams, insyd ein first Australian Open quarterfinal den only ein third major quarterfinal. Insyd de semifinals, she loose to Serena Williams insyd two highly competitive tiebreaks. As a result of dis performance, na Li be de first Chinese woman ever to be ranked insyd de top ten of women's professional tennis.[21]
At de Dubai Championships, Li, de eighth seed, defeat María José Martínez Sánchez insyd de second round. She then cam from a 6–3, 5–2 deficit to defeat Marion Bartoli insyd de third round. Li be forced to retire insyd ein quarterfinals match against Shahar Pe'er. Li continue ein season at de inaugural Malaysian Open. As second seed, she fall to Tatjana Malek insyd de first round. As seventh seed at de Indian Wells Open, Li fall to Elena Baltacha insyd round two. Na Li be eighth seed at de Miami Open, buh she fall to Timea Bacsinszky insyd de second round.
At de Stuttgart Grand Prix, Li defeat defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova insyd de second round, before falling to eventual runner-up Sam Stosur insyd de quarterfinals. Na Li be 11th seed at de French Open. She fall to eventual champion den world No. 17 Francesca Schiavone insyd de third round. Na Li be seeded first at de Birmingham Classic. She defeat 4th seed Aravane Rezaï insyd de semifinals, den second-seeded Maria Sharapova insyd de final to win de tournament. Plus de win, Li return to de top 10 insyd de WTA rankings. Seeded seventh at Eastbourne, Li retire insyd de first round plus a knee injury after winning de first set against Elena Baltacha. Li be seeded ninth at Wimbledon. She defeat seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska to advance to de quarterfinals at Wimbledon for de second time insyd ein career, wer she loose to world No. 1 den defending champion Serena Williams. In doing so Li san return to de top 10 insyd de WTA rankings.
At de US Open, she start off as de eighth seed, buh she fall at de first hurdle to Kateryna Bondarenko. Na Li be an alternate at de WTA Championships, buh she no receive a chance to play. Instead, she play at de Tournament of Champions as de first seed. However, she be defeated by Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm insyd de first round, putting an end to ein 2010 season, ein best season to date. She fini just outsyd de top 10 at world No. 11. At de end of de year, Li ein coach Thomas Högstedt choose to leave am in order to coach Maria Sharapova.
2011: Major breakthru den historic victory at French Open
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Li play insyd de Sydney International as de eighth seed, wey dey make fast work of Australian wildcard Anastasia Rodionova den winning a tough three-set match against Virginie Razzano insyd de first two rounds. Insyd de quarterfinals she meet two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova wey she cam thru plus a win. She defeat surprise qualifier Bojana Jovanovski insyd de semifinals to advance to ein eighth WTA final.[23] Li face world No. 3 Kim Clijsters insyd de final, den despite trailing 5–0 insyd de first set, Li go on to defeat Clijsters, capturing de fourth WTA title of ein career.
Na Li be de ninth seed at de Australian Open, wer she reach ein first Grand Slam singles final, de first tennis player wey dey represent an East Asian den Asian country to achieve dat feat. On de way she oust eighth seed Victoria Azarenka insyd straight sets. She defeat world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, insyd de semifinals to reach de final, after saving a match point insyd de second set. She face No. 3 seed Kim Clijsters (whom na she defeat at de Sydney International). Although Li claim de first set, na Clijsters be able to rally back den claim de championship. Despite de loss, Li ein ranking rise to a career high of world No. 7.[24]
Despite a good early start to de season, Li then get a five-match losing streak. After receiving byes into de second rounds, she loose insyd a hardly fought match against Yanina Wickmayer at de Dubai Championships, lucky loser Klára Zakopalová at de Qatar Ladies Open den countrywoman Peng Shuai at Indian Wells. Despite dis, after Indian Wells she peak at a career-high ranking of world No. 6 secof Janković ein failures to defend ein points.
Li ein losing streak continue, wen na she be upset insyd de Miami Open by Johanna Larsson. Plus dis loss, den Andy Murray ein loss at Miami, both Australian Open finalists be yet to win a match since dema first major final. She fall back to No. 7. Li then break ein losing streak by winning ein first-round match against Anastasija Sevastova insyd Stuttgart. However, she loose to Sabine Lisicki insyd de second round. Even though na she no be able to defend all ein Stuttgart ranking points, she rise back to No. 6. However, secof ein disappointing results, Li Na sack ein husbie as coach wey she hire Dane Michael Mortensen.[25]
She enter de Madrid Open as sixth seed. Insyd de first two rounds, she defeat María José Martínez Sánchez den Iveta Benešová widout much difficulty. Insyd de third round she get de better of Roberta Vinci coming back from a set deficit. She then defeat Bethanie Mattek-Sands after recovering from a break down insyd de deciding set. Dis victory mark ein first semifinals appearance insyd Madrid, wer she loose to eventual champion, Petra Kvitová.
Li ein resurgence continue into de Italian Open. Seeded fourth, she receive a bye insyd de first round. She win ein opening match against Lourdes Domínguez Lino wey she defeat Jarmila Gajdošová den Gréta Arn insyd de next two rounds en route to back-to-back semifinals on clay. However, she loose to Samantha Stosur insyd two sets.
Li win ein first major title at de French Open on June 4; by doing so she make history wey she cam be de first tennis player from an East Asian den Asian country to win a Grand Slam singles event. Seeded sixth, she defeat Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, Sílvia Soler Espinosa, Sorana Cîrstea, ninth seed Petra Kvitová, fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, seventh seed Maria Sharapova, den fifth seed and defending champion Francesca Schiavone insyd de final, a match wey 330 million viewers watch worldwide.[26] After de match, na Li Na be praised by de Chinese media,[27] wey na ein popularity thru out China be expected to grow significantly insyd de coming months, as she cam be de first Chinese national, male anaa female, ever to win a tennis Grand Slam title insyd singles, ensuring ein place insyd de sport ein history.[28][29] Following de French Open, Li rise to a career high ranking of world No. 4.
As de second seed at Eastbourne, Li fall insyd de second round to Daniela Hantuchová. By virtue of de withdrawal of Kim Clijsters, Li be de third seed at Wimbledon, ein highest seeding at a Grand Slam. She beat Alla Kudryavtseva instd de first round buh she loose insyd de second round to eventual semifinalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany even though na she get two match points at 5–3 wey she serve for de match twice at 5–4 den 6–5.[30] Li suffer a surprise knock-out at de 2011 US Open at de hands of 53rd ranked Romanian teen Simona Halep wey she end de coaching of Mortensen. Then at de China Open, Li suffer a first round defeat by Romanian player Monica Niculescu. However, as a result of Vera Zvonareva den Samantha Stosur dema inability to go past de third round, she be able to qualify for de 2011 WTA Tour Championships for de first time insyd ein career.
Li make dein debut appearance at de WTA Championships insyd Istanbul. She be drawn insyd de White Group along plus Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka den Samantha Stosur. She beat Sharapova insyd ein opening match buh she loose ein oda two matches, failing to make de semifinals. She fini de year as de world No. 5 after a memorable yet very inconsistent season. Na dem nominate Li Na for two ESPY Sports Award categories: de "Annual Breakthrough Award" den "Annual Award for best female tennis players".[31] She loose to Blake Griffin den Serena Williams, respectively. On 17 den 18 December, Li participate insyd de Li Na & Friends Tennis Exhibition 2011 insyd Wuhan, China.
2012: First Premier-5 event champion
[edit | edit source]Li start ein 2012 season insyd de Hopman Cup plus countryman Wu Di, wey sanso be from Hubei province, wer she win all three single rubbers against Marion Bartoli, Anabel Medina Garrigues den Jarmila Gajdošová. Na e be ein first win over Anabel Medina Garrigues insyd four meetings. Na e be a return to ein form after she be plagued by losses den early round exits insyd almost all ein tournaments during de second half of 2011 following ein Roland Garros triumph. Li then play insyd de Sydney to defend ein title. She defeat Ekaterina Makarova, Chanelle Scheepers den Lucie Šafářová to reach de semifinals. Insyd de semifinal, she cam back from one set down to eke out de win against world No. 2, Petra Kvitová, de favorite to win de tournament. Insyd de final, Li fail to defend ein title, losing de match to Victoria Azarenka insyd three sets.
Li begin ein Australian Open campaign by cruising thru de early rounds of de tournament, dispatching Ksenia Pervak, Olivia Rogowska, den Anabel Medina Garrigues (after Garrigues retire secof an injured ankle), en route to meeting ein 2011 Australian Open final conqueror Kim Clijsters insyd de fourth round. Kim Clijsters roll ein ankle at 3–3 wey Li take de first set comfortably. Li hold four match points at 6–2 insyd de second set tiebreak, buh she drop six consecutive points to give Clijsters de second set secof unforced errors den poor shot selection. At 1–5 insyd de final set, Li begin a resurgence by reeling off de next three games to close de gap to 4–5, buh de Belgian manage to close out de match. Ein unexpected loss lef am in tears insyd ein post-match press conference.
After de disappointing Australian Open campaign, Li participate insyd de 2012 Fed Cup wey she win all three of ein matches on home soil. She defeat Kei-Chen Changand den Nigina Abduraimova during de round robin stages to push China to de promotional play-offs against Kazakhstan. She next play Galina Voskoboeva wey she win insyd three sets. Dis win seal de tie wey e secure China ein spot insyd de World Group II play-offs.
Li then participate insyd de Open GDF Suez insyd Paris, buh she retire against Tsvetana Pironkova insyd de first round of de tournament secof a back injury she sustain during ein Fed Cup matches. She make back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at Indian Wells den Miami. At de Indian Wells Open, Li get a first round bye wey she face a rematch plus Galina Voskoboeva insyd de second round, wich she win insyd three sets. Li record ein first win over Zheng Jie, after losing de five earlier meetings. Insyd de fourth round she comfortably win against Klára Zakopalová, wey na she be on a roll, upsetting Vera Zvonareva den Daniela Hantuchová. Insyd de quarterfinals she face Angelique Kerber wey she loose insyd two sets. At de Miami Open, after receiving a first round bye, Li defeat Melinda Czink, Iveta Benešová, den Sabine Lisicki to secure a spot insyd de quarterfinals. Ein win over Lisicki avenge ein loss to de big serving German insyd de previous year ein second round of de Wimbledon Championships. Li loose to world No. 2, Maria Sharapova, insyd de quarterfinals, ein first insyd dema last four meetings, wer de Chinese beat de Russian all insyd straight sets.
Li reach de final of de Italian Open, defeating Iveta Benešová, Chanelle Scheepers den Dominika Cibulková widout dropping a set before receiving a walkover from Serena Williams insyd de semifinals. Insyd de final she loose to Maria Sharapova insyd three thriller sets despite being a set up wey she dey lead 4–0 insyd de second den failing to convert a championship point insyd de final set. Na Li be seeded 7th at de French Open, wer na she be de defending champion. She begin ein title defence by defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Stéphanie Foretz den Christina McHale insyd de first three rounds before she suffer a fourth round upset bid by qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova. She fall out of de world top ten secof ein French Open result. Li loose to Sorana Cîrstea insyd de second round of Wimbledon – ein first loss against de Romanian.
At de 2012 London Olympics, Li, seeded 10th, crash out insyd de first round to Slovak Daniela Hantuchová. Ein poor performance cause am to drop out of de world top ten for de second time insyd de year following de conclusion of de Games. After de Olympics, Li announce say she den Carlos Rodríguez, coach of former world No. 1 den seven-time major winner Justine Henin, commence a coaching relationship.[32]
Na Li ein next tournament be de Rogers Cup, wer she make am all de way to de final. She receive a first round bye before seeing off home crowd favourite, Eugenie Bouchard, insyd de second round. Insyd de third round, she fend off world No. 9, Sara Errani, wey she end de hopes of Agnieszka Radwańska rising to No. 1 insyd de rankings by beating am insyd de quarterfinals. Insyd de semifinals, Li rally to cam back from a 5–1 deficit insyd de third set to overcome Lucie Šafářová before losing to Petra Kvitová insyd de final. After de tournament she return to de world top ten at No. 9.
At de Cincinnati Open, Li get a first round bye before eliminating Sorana Cîrstea insyd de second round, avenging ein loss to de Romanian insyd de second round of de Wimbledon Championships. Insyd de third round Li prove to be too strong for Johanna Larsson den insyd de quarterfinals she convincingly defeat world No. 3 den top seed, Agnieszka Radwańska, insyd a match wer Li only surrender two games. She then edge Venus Williams insyd de semifinal (bringing dema head-to-head to 3–0), before defeating fifth seed Angelique Kerber insyd de final; ein fifth win against Kerber insyd six matches. Na dis be ein first title since de 2011 French Open den de sixth career title. By winning dis tournament, she move up one place insyd de rankings to world No. 8.
At de US Open, Li cruise thru de first two rounds plis easy wins over Heather Watson den Casey Dellacqua. However, ein tournament run came to an abrupt end insyd de next round, wen she upset insyd three sets by rising British teenager Laura Robson, wey na she defeat three-time champion Kim Clijsters insyd de previous round. Dis result mean say na dis be ein first season since 2008 insyd wich she fail to reach de quarterfinal stage at a Grand Slam tournament.
Li then travel to Tokyo to participate insyd de Pan Pacific Open. She receive a bye insyd de first round, wey she win ein second round match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to book a meeting plus former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki insyd de third round. She win se first set, buh she eventually loose de match. Ein exit from de tournament mean say ein chances of participating insyd de upcoming 2012 WTA Tour Championships depend on ein performance at de China Open. Li win de first round match against Francesca Schiavone. Insyd de second round she record ein first victory against Russian Nadia Petrova after six previous losses, wey dey cam off a title run at de Pan Pacific Open a week ago. She play compatriot Peng Shuai insyd de third round for a place insyd de quarters wey she emerge victorious insyd a topsy-turvy three set match lasting 2 hours den 28 minutes. Insyd de quarterfinals, she face defending champion Agnieszka Radwańska wey she play sam high-quality tennis to defeat am for de third time dis season. She loose ein semifinal to Maria Sharapova; de Russian reeling off eight consecutive games to take de match. Plus dis performance, she cam be de eighth den final player to qualify for de season-ending championships.
For de 2012 WTA Tour Championships, na dem place Li insyd de red group along plus Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams den Angelique Kerber. She play Serena Williams insyd ein opening match wey she loose insyd two sets after failing to capitalise on ein 4–1 first set lead. She defeat Angelique Kerber insyd ein second match before losing to Azarenka insyd ein third match; insyd de latter match, she serve for de first set at 5–4, buh na she broke wey she loose de set insyd a tie-break. Na dis be de final match of ein 2012 season, finishing de year ranked world No. 7.
On 29 December 2012, Li beat Victoria Azarenka insyd an annual exhibition event insyd Hua Hin, Thailand.
2013: Second Australian Open final, return to top four, den year-end No. 3
[edit | edit source]
Li commence ein season at de first edition of de Shenzhen Open. She cruise to de final plus straight-sets defeats over Mandy Minella, Julia Cohen, Bojana Jovanovski den Peng Shuai, putting am insyd prime position to claim ein seventh WTA title. Li see off 5th seed Klára Zakopalová insyd three sets insyd de final to claim ein first title of 2013 den seventh of ein career.
Li next play at de Sydney International, at wich she make consecutive finals de two previous years, winning insyd 2011. Na dem push am to de limit by Christina McHale buh she get little trouble plus Ayumi Morita. She meet young American Madison Keys insyd de quarterfinals wey prove to be a tougher challenge, plus Li prevailing insyd three tight sets to book a semifinal showdown plus world No. 4, Agnieszka Radwańska. Li look de winner insyd de early stages of de match, buh somewat she falter, producing a high number of unforced errors wich hand Radwańska de first set. She save four match points on Radwańska ein serve insyd de ninth game of de second set den three on ein own serve insyd de tenth game. However, eventually she succumb to de pressure den a half-volley into de net seal de win for Radwańska insyd an hour den 32 minutes, putting an end to Li ein Sydney reign.
At de Australian Open, Li easily storm thru to de quarterfinals, wer she face world No. 4 Agnieszka Radwańska, wey na she no drop a set during a 13-match winning streak. Li cam be de first player to defeat am dis season wey she advance to de semifinals wer she oust world No. 2, Maria Sharapova, insyd straight sets, wey na she only drop a record-low nine games insyd de tournament. Dis mark Li ein second Australian Open final appearance insyd three years, finishing runner-up to Kim Clijsters insyd 2011.[33] Insyd de final, Li be hampered by injuries, falling over on two occasions. De first of wich occur at 1–3 insyd de second set, a fall wey see Li incur a 10-minute medical timeout. She fall over a second time after de Australia Day fireworks break, she no only twist ein left ankle once more buh sanso heavily knock de rear of ein head on de court, wey cause a momentary black-out. Despite she be severely hindered insyd ein movement, she continue dey play buh she eventually loose de match insyd three sets to Victoria Azarenka.
De left ankle injury she sustain insyd de Australian Open decider force am to withdraw from subsequent tournaments wey dey include de Qatar den Indian Wells Open, plus an exhibition match at de BNP Paribas Showdown insyd Hong Kong insyd wich na she be scheduled to play former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
After she be sidelined for seven weeks, Li make a return to de competition at de Miami Open as de fifth seed. After a first round bye, she win ein second round against Kiki Bertens insyd two quick sets widout dropping serve insyd ein first match since de Australian Open final. Next up she face Varvara Lepchenko den Garbiñe Muguruza wey she defeat both insyd straight sets to set up a quarterfinal match against world No. 1 Serena Williams. Despite leading 5–2 insyd de second set den holding a set point on Williams ein serve, na she no manage to find a way to capitalise wey she go on to lose de match insyd a tiebreak.
Na Li ein next tournament be de Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, de first bigger clay court event of de season. As de second seed, she receive a bye insyd de first round. She sweep past qualifier Mirjana Lučić-Baroni insyd de second round, setting up an encounter plus Petra Kvitová insyd de quarterfinals. She dispose of Kvitová den then surprise semifinalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands both insyd straight sets to advance to de final for de first time, seeking ein eighth career title. Na de final be a contest between am den Maria Sharapova, whose passage to de final include three three-set matches each lasting over three hours. She, however, handily defeat Li insyd just over 90 minutes, increasing ein clay-court winning streak to 16 den avenging ein Australian Open semifinal loss to Li earlier insyd de year.
Na Li then be stunned by lucky loser Madison Keys insyd de first round of de Madrid Open de following week, ein first early tournament exit of de season. She return to de Italian Open as de defending finalist. After a first round bye, she defeat Zheng Jie insyd straight sets then she square off plus former doubles partner Jelena Janković, wey defeat Li insyd a marathon match insyd wich Li ein inconsistency prove to ein be undoing, committing 62 unforced errors. As one of de favourites, Li ein quest for a second Grand Slam title begin wen she play Anabel Medina Garrigues insyd de opening round of Roland Garros, winning insyd two sets. Ein struggles on clay continue, however, as she fall victim to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, ranked 67th, insyd a rain-interrupted second round match – losing insyd three sets, wey dey bring ein disappointing clay-court season to a close.
Li get ein grass-court season off to a winning start by beating Alizé Cornet insyd de first round of de Eastbourne International, at wich na she be seeded second. Na she secure a quarterfinal berth against Elena Vesnina after ein second round opponent Marion Bartoli pull out secof a viral illness. De Russian end Li ein run wey she go on to win de tournament.
Na Li be de sixth seed at Wimbledon. She defeat Michaëlla Krajicek insyd de first round den Simona Halep insyd a rollercoaster three set match. Insyd de third round against de No. 32 seed Klára Zakopalová, Li loose de first set, buh she win de match insyd three sets after Zakopalová fail to serve out de match. Insyd de fourth round she dispatch Roberta Vinci to secure a spot insyd de last eight for de third time. After de match, she reveal say na de secret to ein success be de slice practice wey ein husbie Jiang Shan give am prior to de match. Insyd ein quarterfinal clash plus Agnieszka Radwańska, na she dey lead 5–4 insyd de first set wey na she be a set point up wen she hit an ace wey na e be wrongly called out. Na Li no challenge de call, wey she loose de set insyd a tiebreak wer na she sanso dey lead 5–3. She mount a comeback to win de second set, coming from 4–2 down. A brief rain delay halt proceedings at de beginning of de third. Wen play resume, na e be Radwańska wey race to a 5–2 lead. Li save eight match points, buh she eventually loose de match insyd 2 hours 47 minutes.[34]
Li then compete at de Rogers Cup insyd Toronto, at wich she make de final last year. After enjoying a bye insyd de first round, she defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova insyd two easy sets, followed by hard-fought wins over in-form players Ana Ivanovic (insyd a final set tie-break, after surviving 2–5) den Dominika Cibulková to reach de semifinals, wer she loose to Sorana Cîrstea.[35] At de San Diego Open, she notch wins over Lauren Davis den Angelique Kerber before receiving a walkover from Agnieszka Radwańska insyd de quarterfinals after de Pole pull out for personal reasons. Insyd ein semifinal against Serena Williams, she be broken wen serving for both sets wey she be beaten by de eventual champion.
Seeded fifth at de US Open, she defeat Olga Govortsova den Sofia Arvidsson insyd straight sets wey she then get revenge on Laura Robson insyd de third round, de same stage wer Robson defeat am last year. She then breeze past former world No. 1 Jelena Janković insyd straight sets. Upon defeating Janković, she reach de quarterfinals of de US Open for only de second time insyd ein career. Der she beat Ekaterina Makarova to reach ein first US Open semifinal (as well as na e be de first time a Chinese woman make de US Open semifinals) before Serena Williams san end ein run insyd straight sets, needing six match points to do so.
She then head to Beijing to take part insyd de 2013 China Open as de home crowd favourite, defeating Daniela Hantuchová, Bojana Jovanovski den Sabine Lisicki insyd straight sets before falling to Petra Kvitová insyd de quarterfinals.
On 27 September, Li qualify for de 2013 WTA Tour Championships. She win all three of ein round robin matches against Sara Errani, Jelena Janković den Victoria Azarenka, thus qualifying for de semifinals for de first time. Upon beating Petra Kvitová ein ranking rise to a new career high of world No. 3, de highest-ever ranking for a female tennis player from an East Asian den Asian country den overtaking Maria Sharapova den Agnieszka Radwańska. Insyd de final, she make a strong start, blasting ten winners en route to winning de first set against Serena Williams, buth she run out of gas at three-all insyd de second, losing nine games in a row to loose de match.
2014: Australian Open champion den retirement
[edit | edit source]Li start ein 2014 season as de defending champion at de Shenzhen Open. She defeat wildcard den former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva insyd de first round, Nadiia Kichenok insyd de second round, Monica Niculescu insyd de quarterfinals den Annika Beck insyd de semifinals to reach ein first final of de year den setting up de second all-Chinese final insyd WTA history insyd de process, wer she defeat Peng Shuai insyd straight sets to win ein eighth career singles title.[36] Dis mark de first time insyd Li ein career wer na she successfully defend a title of any kind.
At de Australian Open, Li compete as de fourth seed. She make quick work of current junior top-2 players Ana Konjuh den Belinda Bencic insyd de first two rounds. Having loose de first set against Lucie Šafářová, she fend off a match point wen trailing 5–6 insyd de second, before rebounding insyd de tiebreak den decisive set to avoid de upset. She then cruise past Ekaterina Makarova, Flavia Pennetta, den Eugenie Bouchard to reach ein third Australian Open final insyd 4 years, wer she defeat first-time major singles finalist den 20th seed, Dominika Cibulková, insyd straight sets to claim ein first Australian Open title, thus becoming de first East Asian den Asian Australian Open champion den fourth woman to win de title after she be match point down.[37][38]
Li extend ein winning streak to thirteen consecutive matches by defeating Magdaléna Rybáriková insyd ein opener at de Qatar Ladies Open. She then suffer ein first loss of de season to qualifier Petra Cetkovská insyd a tight three set contest insyd de third round. After de tournament, Li reach a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 2.
Na Li ein next scheduled event be de Indian Wells Open, wer she be unable to compete de previous year secof injury. Seeded first at a Premier Mandatory event for de first time, she receive a bye insyd de first round before registering straight set victories over countrywoman Zheng Jie, Karolína Plíšková den Aleksandra Wozniak en route to a quarterfinal clash plus Dominika Cibulková, a rematch of de Australian Open final. Though Li commit 54 unforced errors, she prevail insyd three sets wey she face Flavia Pennetta insyd de semifinals. Der, she be upset insyd straight sets by de 20th-seeded Italian den eventual champion.[39]
At de Miami Open, she receive a first-round bye den walkover insyd de second round secof de withdrawal of Alisa Kleybanova. Li defeat Madison Keys, Carla Suárez Navarro den Caroline Wozniacki en route to a semifinal against Dominika Cibulková, wey na she be projected to make ein top-ten debut plus ein previous win over Agnieszka Radwańska. Li improve ein perfect record against de Slovak to 7–0 wey she book ein place insyd ein first Premier Mandatory final. Insyd a final featuring de world's top-2 players, Li race to a 5–2 lead insyd de first set wey she waste a set point, before ein opponent, world No. 1 Serena Williams, rally to steal de set 7–5. Li only manage to win a single game insyd de second set.
Following a 21–3 start to de season, na Li be forced out of de 2014 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix secof a left knee injury, wer na she be de finalist insyd 2013. She start ein clay-court campaign at de Madrid Open, wer she record wins over Kirsten Flipkens den Zheng Jie insyd de first two rounds. Li then battled past Sloane Stephens insyd three sets, wey na she san involve insyd a narrow three setter insyd ein quarterfinal against Maria Sharapova, eventually succumbing to de Russian after taking de first set comfortably. At de Italian Open, Li beat Australians Casey Dellacqua (for ein 500th career win) den Sam Stosur, before suffering ein first loss to Sara Errani insyd de quarterfinals. After de match, na Li tell reporters say she vomit less dan 20 minutes prior to stepping onto de court secof food poisoning.[40] At de French Open, she be upset by French youngster Kristina Mladenovic insyd de opening round. Na dis sanso be Li ein earliest loss insyd de tournament. Li ein first round loss contribute to three negative tennis records. Secof fellow 2014 Australian Open men's champion Stan Wawrinka loose insyd de first round as well, na e be de first time insyd de history of tennis wey.na de reigning Grand Slam winners be ousted insyd de opening round of dema next major.[41] Secof top seed Serena Williams loose insyd de second round, na e be de first time insyd Open Era history wey de two top seeded women loose before de third round at any Grand Slam tournament.[42] After No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwańska loose insyd de third round, na e sanso be de first time insyd de Open Era wey none of de top-3 seeds advance past de third round.
Li choose not to play a warm-up event before de third major of de season get underway. Ein dip in form continue at de 2014 Wimbledon Championships, wer na she be eliminated insyd de third round by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, having beaten Paula Kania den Yvonne Meusburger insyd de first den second rounds, respectively. Insyd July, Li den coach Rodríguez part ways.[43]
She no play since Wimbledon secof a left knee injury wich require surgery, Li announce ein retirement from professional tennis on 19 September 2014. She end ein career ranked world No. 6 by de WTA.[44][45][46] Dat year she be named one of ESPNW ein Impact 25.[47]
Popularity den endorsements
[edit | edit source]As de most successful East Asian, den Asian tennis player ever, Li cam be one of de most well-known den marketable athletes insyd de world.[48] Insyd 2013, Li appear on de cover of Time magazine, wich dem name ein insyd ein annual list of de 100 Most Influential People insyd de World; Li be one of only four athletes to be named on de list. Former world No. 1 Chris Evert dey wrep: "Tennis has exploded in China. The country now has some 15 million tennis players; 116 million watched Li win the French Open. That kind of exposure is crucial to our sport, and it never would have happened without Li. At tournaments, I've seen her charm the crowds. When she smiles, everyone melts. She's just such a breath of fresh air. Her friendly on-court demeanour as well as her hilariously-witty post-match interviews brings a smile to everyone's face."[49][50][51] Li sanso appear on de cover of 26 May 2014 edition of Time magazine, wich feature an article titled "The Passion of Li Na", insyd wich author Hannah Beech describe Li as a world class sports idol, inspiring millions of Chinese people to regard am as an icon of pursuing independent character den freedom of thought.[52][53][54] Insyd 2012, Forbes list Li as No. 85 insyd de Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Li, along plus de fellow tennis players Maria Sharapova den Serena Williams, be de only three female athletes wey crack de Top 100 earning list.[55] Li be ranked No. 5 den No.8 on de Forbes China Celebrity 100 list insyd 2012 den 2014 respectively.[56][57] Li affectionately be called "Big Sister Na" (Chinese: 娜姐; pinyin: Nàjiě) among Chinese communities wey she be considered a "strong, unbending den unyielding" role model. She no only be cam a household name across China buh a global icon, plus ein Sina Weibo microblogging get over 23 million followers as of October 2014.[58] Ein perceived rebelliousness, exemplified by de rose tattoo on ein chest den ein previous run-ins plus government sports programs, sanso help boost ein popularity.[48] On 15 April 2015, Li receive de Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement award at de Laureus World Sports Awards dem hold insyd Shanghai.[59] Na she sanso be a nominee for de Laureus World Sportswoman of de Year award, alongside Serena Williams.
Na Nike be Li ein clothing den footwear sponsor for chaw years, dating back to ein early tennis career.[5] Li use Babolat Pure Drive GT rackets.[60] Insyd 2009, Li be signed by IMG. She rise to fame after ein Roland Garros triumph, den since she sign seven endorsements insyd multiple-year terms.[61][62][63] Ein agent, Max Eisenbud, sanso manage to negotiate a deal wey dey allow Li to wear other sponsors dema patches on ein Nike tennis shirt, something wey no be usually permitted by de sportswear giant.[64][65]
Insyd 2019, Peter Chan direct a biopic about Li Na ein life, based on ein autobiography, plus a release date yet unknown.[66]
Playing style
[edit | edit source]Na Li be an aggressive baseliner whose game be founded upon ein quick reflexes, athleticism den powerful groundstrokes wey achieve precision, placement den depth. Li ein crosscourt forehand tend to be ein favourite shot, hit plus great accuracy den pace, although na ein backhand be said to be de more consistent den reliable groundstroke, both of wich na she be known to unleash unpredictably to all areas of de court to dictate play. She boast an exceptional backhand down-the-line, wich na be very effective at producing winners anaa setting up a weak reply from de opponent. Chaw tennis analysts consider Li one of de cleanest den hardest hitting players on tour, capable of overpowering den outgunning opponents from de baseline. Although na she no possess an overwhelmingly powerful serve, na e be very well placed, earning ein aces anaa unreturnables on occasion, however e often cam be a liability wen she loose confidence under pressure, resulting in chaw double faults. Li employ a solid defensive game wey dey combine great footwork, speed den lateral movement. Na ein ability to turn defense into offense be one of ein biggest assets as she hit well on de run den scrambled around de court plus ease. Na she be an accomplished doubles player, she be comfortable wen playing at de net, often moving forward to take advantage of a short ball anaa finish off an extended rally. Na Li ein inconsistency be cited as ein main weakness thru out ein career, as she be prone to streaky den erratic play accompanied by a high unforced error count. Since ein shots usually be hit hard den flat plus minimal topspin anaa slice, ein game lack variety. Ein emotions on court hurt ein game during tight moments. Under de tutelage of Carlos Rodríguez, Li adopt more of an all-round game, implementing a forehand plus additional topspin den frequent net approaches into ein arsenal, as well as improved consistency, mental stability, mobility den coordination.
Rivalries
[edit | edit source]Li vs. Sharapova
[edit | edit source]Li Na get a see-saw rivalry plus Maria Sharapova, wey de latter win dema first five matches dating back to 2005, wey dey include Li ein Grand Slam debut at de 2005 Australian Open.[67] Li win ein first match against Sharapova insyd de 2009 Birmingham semifinals, starting a series of four consecutive wins against Sharapova. Li san beat Sharapova insyd Birmingham insyd 2010, dis time insyd de final, den insyd de semifinals of de 2011 French Open, on ein way to winning ein maiden Grand Slam. At de Year-end Championships later dat year, Li defeat Sharapova insyd de round robin stage. Insyd 2012, Li den Sharapova meet three times, wey Sharapova win all three of dema matches, de most notable be de final of de clay-court tournament insyd Rome. Li win de first set wey she look headed for victory wen she go 4–0 up insyd de second secof an effectively aggressive gameplan wich see am take 15 of 17 points. Plus victory nearing Li suddenly see ein accuracy shatter den 24 unforced errors let Sharapova back into de match to eventually take a three set win over Li.[68] Dem san meet insyd de 2013 Australian Open semifinals, wer Li achieve ein most notable victory over Sharapova, winning insyd straight sets den giving up just four games (Sharapova loose just nine entering de match). A few months later at de 2013 Porsche Grand Prix Tennis insyd Stuttgart, Sharapova defend ein title by defeating Li insyd de final. Na de pair be involved insyd anoda three set battle insyd de 2014 Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals, wer Sharapova eventually triumph even though na Li be up a set den a break. Sharapova lead Li insyd de head-to-head 10–5.[69]
Li vs. Radwańska
[edit | edit source]Li den Agnieszka Radwańska first play each oda insyd 2009. Li lead de head-to-head 6–5.[70] After dema first four matches insyd 2009 den 2010 wey na de head-to-head be even at 2–2. Dis include a victory each at de Wimbledon Championships; Radwańska win insyd 2009 den Li insyd 2010. Insyd 2012 Li den Radwańska meet 4 times, wey Li take 3 victories. Li loose dema meeting insyd de Stuttgart quarter-final insyd three sets, buh she dominate insyd Montréal, Cincinnati den Beijing. Li prevent Radwańska from taking de world No. 1 ranking off Victoria Azarenka plus de first two victories, whilst she sanso end ein title defence insyd Beijing, securing de eighth den final place insyd de year-end championships in de process.
Insyd 2013 both win de first tournament dem enter. Na dem both be undefeated wen dem meet each oda insyd de semifinals of dema second tournament of de year at Sydney. Radwańska beat Li wey shs eventually win de tournament. Na dis be Li ein first defeat of 2013, while Radwańska remain unbeaten. Insyd de 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals, Li hand Radwańska ein first loss of de season. Dem san meet at Wimbledon insyd de quarterfinals, wey Radwańska eke out a close three set win.
Li vs. Clijsters
[edit | edit source]Li den Kim Clijsters form a well-known rivalry, na dem meet eight times between 2006 den 2012. Clijsters win dema head-to-head 6–2, wey dey include 4–0 at Grand Slams.[71] Na Li ein maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal be at Wimbledon insyd 2006 insyd wich na she be defeated by de second-seeded Clijsters insyd straight sets. Na Li ein second Grand Slam quarterfinal be at de 2009 US Open, wey na san be against Clijsters, wey she recently launch a comeback after starting a family, wey she prevail insyd straight sets.
Na one of Li ein two wins against Clijsters cam insyd de final of de 2011 Sydney International. Na Li trail 0–5 insyd de first set before coming back to win de set insyd a tiebreak en route to complete a remarkable straight-sets victory den deny Clijsters a third Sydney title.[72] Dem san go meet only two weeks later, insyd de final of de 2011 Australian Open, a match wich get historical proportions secof Li go cam be de first player from an Asian country to win a Grand Slam singles title anaa Clijsters go win ein first non-US Open Grand Slam title. Both players cam into de match having defeated de world ein top two players insyd de semifinals: Li over Caroline Wozniacki den Clijsters over Vera Zvonareva. After Li take de first set, she proceed to loose de next two, giving Clijsters ein only Australian Open title.[73]
De pair san meet at de same tournament twelve months later, dis time insyd de fourth round. Similar to de previous year ein final, Li win de first set before eventually losing insyd three sets; dis time around na she hold four match points insyd de second-set tiebreak.[74]
Li vs. Azarenka
[edit | edit source]List of all matches
Li den Victoria Azarenka meet eleven times between 2008 den 2013.[75] Azarenka lead de head-to-head 6–5 overall, den 2–1 insyd championship matches, buh Li lead 2–1 insyd Grand Slam matches.
Na dema first meeting be insyd de final of de 2008 Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament (wich since be renamed de Brisbane International), wich Li Na win insyd three sets after na Azarenka win de first.[76] Na Azarenka ein first victory over Li be insyd de third round of de 2010 Rogers Cup. Dem meet three times insyd 2011, two of wich na be at Grand Slams, wey Li win on both occasions, before Azarenka win dema third meeting at de 2011 WTA Tour Championships, en route to reaching de final.
Dem meet a further three times insyd 2012, wey Azarenka win each time. Dem meet insyd de final of de Sydney International, wer de Belarusian win insyd three sets after breaking de defending champion Li at 4–3 insyd de decider.[77] Na Azarenka sanso be victorious insyd dema meetings at Madrid den de year-end championships.
Na dema most notable meeting to date be insyd de final of de 2013 Australian Open. Na both players enter de championship match plus one Grand Slam title each (Azarenka win de 2012 Australian Open, whilst Li win de 2011 French Open), den insyd very good form, wey Azarenka only concede one set during de tournament den Li no drop a set wey she sanso defeat two top-4 players (Agnieszka Radwańska den Maria Sharapova) en route. After Li win de first set, she suffer serious head den ankle injuries wey she eventually loose insyd three sets.[78]
Na dema last meeting at de 2013 WTA Tour Championships be a lopsided affair, wey Li record a straight sets win wey she loose just three games insyd de process.[79]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Parents
[edit | edit source]Dem born Li Na on 26 February 1982 insyd downtown Wuhan, Hubei. Na ein grandpoppie Li Longli be a sports teacher at de Baoxing Street Elementary School, Hankow.[80][81] Ein poppie Li Shengpeng (李盛鵬, 1957–1996[82]), wey komot Hanyang County, Hubei,[83] briefly make am to de Hubei provincial badminton team buh na ein sports career halt wen na dem send am to de countryside during de Down to the Countryside Movement of de Cultural Revolution. Na Li Shengpeng be past ein peak level wen he return from de countryside wey he work as a sales rep insyd de state-owned Yangtze Metal Works Factory insyd Wuhan.[84] He die from a rare cardiovascular disease wen na Li Na be fourteen.[82][12]
Li Na ein maternal grandparents den ein mommie, all from Xinhua County, Hunan, use to live insyd Port Baoqing insyd Wuhan, a neighborhood historically reside by de river shipping clique from Xinhua County.[85][83] Ein mommie Li Yanping (李豔萍, 1957–) work at de Wuhan Yangtze Ferry Company.[84] Wen na Li Na be three years old, ein mommie take am to temporarily live plus ein maternal grandmommie insyd Baixi, Xinhua, Hunan.[85]
Marriage
[edit | edit source]Li den ein husbie, Jiang Shan, get two kiddies.[86] On 19 January 2015, Li announce say she den ein husbie dey expect dema their first kiddie.[87] She give birth to ein daughter Alisa insyd June 2015.[88] Eun second kiddie, a boy, dem born am on 23 December 2016.[89] She often dey refer to ein husbie as 'Dennis'.[66]
Insyd December 2019, Li purchase a Hudson Yards apartment insyd New York City.[90] She sanso dey own an apartment insyd Boston, Massachusetts.[91]
Career statistics
[edit | edit source]Performance timeline
[edit | edit source]| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Only main-draw results insyd WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup (Fed Cup), Hopman Cup den Olympic Games be included insyd win–loss records.
Singles
[edit | edit source]| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | ... | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | Q1 | A | 3R | 1R | 4R | 3R | A | SF | F | 4R | F | W | 1 / 9 | 34–8 | 81% | |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | 4R | 3R | W | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1 / 8 | 20–7 | 74% | |
| Wimbledon | A | Q1 | A | A | QF | A | 2R | 3R | QF | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | 0 / 8 | 19–8 | 70% | |
| US Open | Q2 | A | A | 1R | 4R | A | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | A | 0 / 8 | 17–8 | 68% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 9–4 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 9–3 | 11–4 | 14–3 | 9–4 | 16–4 | 9–2 | 2 / 33 | 90–31 | 74% | |
| National representation | |||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | 1R | NH | A | NH | 4th | NH | 1R | NH | 0 / 3 | 4–4 | 50% | ||||||
| Year-end championships | |||||||||||||||||
| WTA Finals | DNQ | Alt | RR | RR | F | A | 0 / 3 | 6–5 | 55% | ||||||||
| WTA Tournament of Champions | NH | DNQ | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |||||||
| WTA 1000 + former† tournaments | |||||||||||||||||
| Dubai / Qatar Open | NH | NMS | SF | 1R | QF | 2R | A | A | 3R | 0 / 5 | 7–5 | 40% | |||||
| Indian Wells Open | A | A | A | A | 4R | SF | A | 4R | 2R | 2R | QF | A | SF | 0 / 7 | 17–7 | 71% | |
| Miami Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | A | QF | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | F | 0 / 8 | 19–8 | 70% | |
| Berlin / Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | A | 2R | QF | SF | QF | 1R | QF | 0 / 8 | 19–8 | 70% | |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | SF | F | 3R | QF | 0 / 4 | 8–4 | 67% | |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | F | SF | A | 0 / 6 | 10–6 | 63% | |
| Cincinnati Open | NH | NMS | A | 3R | 3R | W | SF | A | 1 / 4 | 9–3 | 75% | ||||||
| Pan Pacific / Wuhan Open | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | SF | A | A | 3R | A | A | 0 / 4 | 6–4 | 60% | |
| China Open | NMS | 3R | SF | 1R | SF | QF | A | 0 / 5 | 12–5 | 70% | |||||||
| Family Circle Cup† | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | NMS | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | ||||||
| Kremlin Cup† | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | NMS | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | ||||||
| Win–loss | 11–7 | 26–7 | 12–6 | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | ... | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | SR | W–L | Win % | |
| Tournaments | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 9 | Career total: 166 | |||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Career total: 9 | |||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | Career total: 21 | |||
| Overall win–loss | 1–3 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 23–14 | 40–21 | 23–13 | 29–15 | 35–16 | 36–20 | 32–17 | 42–17 | 44–14 | 28–7 | 9 / 166 | 503–188 | 73% | |
| Win (%) | 25% | 0% | 86% | 62% | 66% | 64% | 66% | 69% | 64% | 65% | 74% | 76% | 80% | Career total: 73% | |||
| Year-end ranking | 134 | 303 | 80 | 57 | 21 | 29 | 23 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 9 | $16,709,074 | |||
Doubles
[edit | edit source]| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 4 | 2–4 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| US Open | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 3–3 |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0 / 10 | 8–10 |
Significant finals
[edit | edit source]Grand Slams
[edit | edit source]Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2011 | Australian Open | Hard | Kim Clijsters | 6–3, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2011 | French Open | Clay |  Francesca Schiavone |
6–4, 7–6(7–0) |
| Loss | 2013 | Australian Open | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2014 | Australian Open | Hard | Dominika Cibulková | 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Olympics
[edit | edit source]Singles: 1 bronze medal match
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th place | 2008 | Beijing Summer Olympics | Hard | Vera Zvonareva | 0–6, 5–7 |
WTA Finals
[edit | edit source]Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2013 | WTA Finals, Istanbul | Hard (i) |  Serena Williams |
6–2, 3–6, 0–6 |
WTA 1000
[edit | edit source]Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2012 | Italian Open | Clay | Maria Sharapova | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(5–7) |
| Loss | 2012 | Canadian Open | Hard |  Petra Kvitová |
5–7, 6–2, 3–6 |
| Win | 2012 | Cincinnati Masters | Hard |  Angelique Kerber |
1–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2014 | Miami Masters | Hard | Serena Williams |
5–7, 1–6 |
WTA Tour finals
[edit | edit source]Singles: 21 (9 titles, 12 runner-ups)
[edit | edit source]
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Oct 2004 | Guangzhou International, China | Tier III | Hard | Martina Suchá | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | May 2005 | Estoril Open, Portugal | Tier IV | Clay | Lucie Šafářová |
7–6(7–4), 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | May 2006 | Estoril Open, Portugal | Tier IV | Clay |  Zheng Jie |
7–6(7–4), 5–7 ret. |
| Win | 2–2 | Jan 2008 | Gold Coast Championships, Australia | Tier III | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Mar 2009 | Monterrey Open, Mexico | International | Hard | Marion Bartoli | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Jun 2009 | Birmingham Classic, UK | International | Grass | Magdaléna Rybáriková | 0–6, 6–7(2–7) |
| Win | 3–4 | Jun 2010 | Birmingham Classic, UK | International | Grass | Maria Sharapova | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 4–4 | Jan 2011 | Sydney International, Australia | Premier | Hard | Kim Clijsters | 7–6(7–3), 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–5 | Jan 2011 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Kim Clijsters | 6–3, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5–5 | Jun 2011 | French Open | Grand Slam | Clay | Francesca Schiavone |
6–4, 7–6(7–0) |
| Loss | 5–6 | Jan 2012 | Sydney International, Australia | Premier | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 2–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5–7 | May 2012 | Italian Open | Premier 5 | Clay | Maria Sharapova | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(5–7) |
| Loss | 5–8 | Aug 2012 | Canadian Open | Premier 5 | Hard | Petra Kvitová |
5–7, 6–2, 3–6 |
| Win | 6–8 | Aug 2012 | Cincinnati Open, USA | Premier 5 | Hard | Angelique Kerber |
1–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 7–8 | Jan 2013 | Shenzhen Open, China | International | Hard | Klára Zakopalová |
6–3, 1–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 7–9 | Jan 2013 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 7–10 | Apr 2013 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Premier | Clay (i) | Maria Sharapova | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 7–11 | Oct 2013 | WTA Championships, Turkey | Finals | Hard (i) | Serena Williams |
6–2, 3–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 8–11 | Jan 2014 | Shenzhen Open, China (2) | International | Hard | Peng Shuai |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 9–11 | Jan 2014 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Dominika Cibulková | 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
| Loss | 9–12 | Mar 2014 | Miami Open, USA | Premier M | Hard | Serena Williams |
5–7, 1–6 |
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
[edit | edit source]
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 2000 | Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan | Tier IV | Hard | Li Ting |
 Iroda Tulyaganova  Anna Zaporozhanova |
3–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jun 2006 | Birmingham Classic, UK | Tier III | Grass | Jelena Janković | Jill Craybas  Liezel Huber |
6–2, 6–4 |
ITF finals
[edit | edit source]Singles: 20 (19 titles, 1 runner–up)
[edit | edit source]| Legend |
|---|
| $75,000 tournaments (1–0) |
| $50,000 tournaments (3–0) |
| $25,000 tournaments (7–1) |
| $10,000 tournaments (8–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 1999 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 10,000 | Hard | Chung Yang-jin | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jun 1999 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 10,000 | Hard | Chung Yang-jin | 6–0, 6–0 |
| Win | 3–0 | Aug 1999 | ITF Westende, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Daphne van de Zande | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 4–0 | Jan 2000 | ITF Boca Raton, United States | 10,000 | Hard | Sandra Cacic |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 5–0 | Mar 2000 | ITF Nanjing, China | 10,000 | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | 7–6(7–3), 6–2 |
| Win | 6–0 | Apr 2000 | ITF Nanjing, China | 10,000 | Hard | Ding Ding |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 7–0 | Apr 2000 | ITF Shenyang, China | 10,000 | Hard | Sun Tiantian |
6–0, 6–4 |
| Win | 8–0 | Apr 2000 | ITF Dalian, China | 10,000 | Hard | Chen Li-Ling |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 9–0 | May 2000 | ITF Seoul, South Korea | 50,000 | Clay | Kim Eun-ha | 6–3, 7–6(7–1) |
| Win | 10–0 | May 2000 | ITF Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 25,000 | Hard | Wynne Prakusya | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 11–0 | Jul 2000 | ITF Civitanova Marche, Italy | 25,000 | Clay | Emmanuelle Gagliardi | 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(7–0) |
| Win | 12–0 | Apr 2001 | ITF Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 25,000 | Hard | Roberta Vinci |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 13–0 | Jul 2001 | ITF Guangzhou, China | 25,000 | Hard | Liu Nannan |
6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 14–0 | Feb 2002 | ITF Midland, United States | 75,000 | Hard | Mashona Washington |
6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 15–0 | May 2004 | ITF Beijing, China | 25,000 | Hard | Seiko Okamoto | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 16–0 | May 2004 | ITF Tongliao, China | 25,000 | Hard | Bahia Mouhtassine | 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5) |
| Win | 17–0 | Jun 2004 | ITF Wulanhaote, China | 25,000 | Hard | Liu Nannan |
6–0, 6–0 |
| Win | 18–0 | Jun 2004 | ITF Beijing, China | 50,000 | Hard | Suchanan Viratprasert | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 18–1 | Sep 2004 | ITF Beijing, China | 25,000 | Hard | Zheng Jie |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 19–1 | Oct 2004 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 50,000 | Hard | Sun Tiantian |
6–3, 4–6, 6–2 |
Doubles: 21 (16 titles, 5 runner–ups)
[edit | edit source]| Legend |
|---|
| $50,000 tournaments (3–1) |
| $25,000 tournaments (2–2) |
| $10,000 tournaments (11–2) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partnering | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 1999 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Liza Andriyani | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jun 1999 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Chung Yang-jin | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 3–0 | Aug 1999 | ITF Rebecq, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Natasha Galouza | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–0 | Aug 1999 | ITF Koksijde, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Rewa Hudson | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–0 | Aug 1999 | ITF Westende, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Natasha Galouza | 7–6(5), 6–2 |
| Win | 6–0 | Sep 1999 | ITF Ibaraki, Japan | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Mareze Joubert
|
7–6(4), 6–3 |
| Win | 7–0 | Sep 1999 | ITF Tokyo, Japan | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Maki Arai | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 8–0 | Dec 1999 | ITF Manila, Philippines | 25,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Haruka Inoue | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 8–1 | Jan 2000 | ITF Boca Raton, United States | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Sandra Cacic
|
4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 9–1 | Jan 2000 | ITF Hallandale, United States | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Jean Okada
|
6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 10–1 | Feb 2000 | ITF Chengdu City, China | 25,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
 Joana Cortez
|
6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 11–1 | Mar 2000 | ITF Nanjing, China | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Chae Kyung-yee | 7–6(4), 6–1 |
| Win | 12–1 | Apr 2000 | ITF Nanjing, China | 10,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Ding Ding
|
6–1, 7–6 |
| Win | 13–1 | Apr 2000 | ITF Dalian, China | 10,000 | Hard | Ding Ding |
Chang Kyung-mi | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Loss | 13–2 | May 2000 | ITF Seoul, South Korea | 50,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Shinobu Asagoe | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 13–3 | May 2000 | ITF Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 25,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Cho Yoon-jeong
Saori Obata |
1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 13–4 | Jun 2000 | ITF Shenzhen, China | 25,000 | Hard | Li Ting |
Kim Eun-ha | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 14–4 | Jul 2000 | ITF Orbetello, Italy | 25,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Joana Cortez
|
6–3, 7–6(3) |
| Win | 15–4 | Mar 2001 | ITF Hangzhou, China | 25,000 | Hard | Lui-Li Shen |
Lenka Dlhopolcová | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 15–5 | Apr 2002 | ITF Cagliari, Italy | 10,000 | Clay | Li Ting |
Yan Zi
|
4–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 16–5 | Aug 2004 | ITF Bronx, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Liu Nannan |
Jessica Lehnhoff
|
5–7, 6–3, 6–3 |
Career Grand Slam statistics
[edit | edit source]Seedings
[edit | edit source]De tournaments wey Li win dey insyd boldface, wey de ones Li advance into finals dey insyd italics.[92]
| Year | Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | absent | absent | 27th | 24th |
| 2007 | 19th | 16th | absent | absent |
| 2008 | 24th | absent | absent | absent |
| 2009 | absent | 25th | 19th | 18th |
| 2010 | 16th | 11th | 9th | 8th |
| 2011 | 9th (1) | 6th (1) | 3rd | 6th |
| 2012 | 5th | 7th | 11th | 9th |
| 2013 | 6th (2) | 6th | 6th | 5th |
| 2014 | 4th (2) | 2nd | 2nd | absent |
Best Grand Slam results details
[edit | edit source]Grand Slam winners dey insyd boldface, den runner–ups dey insyd italics.[92]
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Record against oda players
[edit | edit source]No. 1 wins
[edit | edit source]| # | Player | Event | Surface | Round | Score | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Serena Williams |
2008 Stuttgart Open | Hard (i) | 2R | 0–6, 6–1, 6–4 | QF |
| 2. | Caroline Wozniacki | 2011 Australian Open | Hard | SF | 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 | F |
Top 10 wins
[edit | edit source]| Season | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 42 |
| # | Player | vsRank | Event | Surface | Round | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | |||||||
| 1. | Patty Schnyder | 9 | Berlin Open, Germany | Clay | QF | 2–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–1) | 61 |
| 2. | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 6 | Wimbledon, United Kingdom | Grass | 3R | 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 | 30 |
| 2007 | |||||||
| 3. | Elena Dementieva | 8 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | 2R | 3–6, 6–1, 7–5 | 21 |
| 4. | Dinara Safina | 10 | Australian Open | Hard | 3R | 6–2, 6–2 | 16 |
| 5. | Jelena Janković | 9 | Indian Wells Open, United States | Hard | 4R | 6–3, 7–6(7–1) | 17 |
| 6. | Kim Clijsters | 5 | Miami Open, United States | Hard | 4R | 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 | 17 |
| 2008 | |||||||
| 7. | Anna Chakvetadze | 6 | Qatar Open, Qatar | Hard | 2R | 7–6(9–7), 6–4 | 29 |
| 8. | Jelena Janković | 4 | Qatar Open, Qatar | Hard | QF | 6–3, 6–4 | 29 |
| 9. | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 3 | Summer Olympics, Beijing, China | Hard | 1R | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 | 42 |
| 10. | Venus Williams |
8 | Summer Olympics, Beijing, China | Hard | QF | 7–5, 7–5 | 42 |
| 11. | Serena Williams |
1 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Hard (i) | 2R | 0–6, 6–1, 6–4 | 30 |
| 2009 | |||||||
| 12. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 10 | Monterrey Open, Mexico | Hard | 1R | 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–0 | 53 |
| 13. | Vera Zvonareva | 5 | Miami Open, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 | 40 |
| 14. | Victoria Azarenka | 9 | Pan Pacific Open, Japan | Hard | QF | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–4) | 16 |
| 2010 | |||||||
| 15. | Caroline Wozniacki | 4 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | 1R | 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 | 17 |
| 16. | Caroline Wozniacki | 4 | Australian Open | Hard | 4R | 6–4, 6–3 | 17 |
| 17. | Venus Williams |
6 | Australian Open | Hard | QF | 2–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5 | 17 |
| 18. | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 5 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Clay (i) | 2R | 6–3, 7–5 | 16 |
| 19. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 9 | Wimbledon, UK | Grass | 4R | 6–3, 6–2 | 12 |
| 2011 | |||||||
| 20. | Kim Clijsters | 3 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | F | 7–6(7–3), 6–3 | 11 |
| 21. | Victoria Azarenka | 9 | Australian Open | Hard | 4R | 6–3, 6–3 | 11 |
| 22. | Caroline Wozniacki | 1 | Australian Open | Hard | SF | 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 | 11 |
| 23. | Petra Kvitová |
9 | French Open | Clay | 4R | 2–6, 6–1, 6–3 | 7 |
| 24. | Victoria Azarenka | 4 | French Open | Clay | QF | 7–5, 6–2 | 7 |
| 25. | Maria Sharapova | 8 | French Open | Clay | SF | 6–4, 7–5 | 7 |
| 26. | Francesca Schiavone |
5 | French Open | Clay | F | 6–4, 7–6(7–0) | 7 |
| 27. | Maria Sharapova | 2 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | RR | 7–6(7–4), 6–4 | 5 |
| 2012 | |||||||
| 28. | Petra Kvitová |
2 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | SF | 1–6, 7–5, 6–2 | 5 |
| 29. | Sara Errani |
9 | Canadian Open, Canada | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 6–2 | 11 |
| 30. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 3 | Canadian Open, Canada | Hard | QF | 6–2, 6–1 | 11 |
| 31. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 3 | Cincinnati Open, United States | Hard | QF | 6–1, 6–1 | 9 |
| 32. | Angelique Kerber |
7 | Cincinnati Open, United States | Hard | F | 1–6, 6–3, 6–1 | 9 |
| 33. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 3 | China Open, China | Hard | QF | 6–4, 6–2 | 8 |
| 34. | Angelique Kerber |
5 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | RR | 6–4, 6–3 | 8 |
| 2013 | |||||||
| 35. | Agnieszka Radwańska | 4 | Australian Open | Hard | QF | 7–5, 6–3 | 6 |
| 36. | Maria Sharapova | 2 | Australian Open | Hard | SF | 6–2, 6–2 | 6 |
| 37. | Petra Kvitová |
8 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Clay (i) | QF | 6–3, 7–5 | 5 |
| 38. | Angelique Kerber |
8 | Cincinnati Open, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 6–4 | 5 |
| 39. | Sara Errani |
7 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | RR | 6–3, 7–6(7–5) | 5 |
| 40. | Jelena Janković | 8 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | RR | 6–3, 2–6, 6–3 | 5 |
| 41. | Victoria Azarenka | 2 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | RR | 6–2, 6–1 | 5 |
| 42. | Petra Kvitová |
6 | WTA Tour Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | Hard (i) | SF | 6–4, 6–2 | 5 |
WTA Tour career earnings
[edit | edit source]Li earn more than 16 million dollars during ein career.[93]
| Year | Grand Slam singles titles | WTA singles titles | Total singles titles | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 65,950 | 155 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139,798 | 97 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 460,982 | 30 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 377,940 | 44 |
| 2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 386,568 | 42 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 646,085 | 29 |
| 2010 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1,158,898 | 15 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3,709,139 | 4 |
| 2012 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2,280,646 | 8 |
| 2013 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3,982,485 | 3 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3,409,885 | 5 |
| Career | 2 | 7 | 9 | 16,709,074 | 17 |
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Chris Evert (18 April 2013). "Li Na: Tennis champion, 31". TIME. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
- ↑ Johnson, Christopher (26 January 2011). "One-on-one with Chinese tennis ace Li Na". CNN. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
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- ↑ Assael, Shaun (22 April 2014). "For self or for country". ESPN. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
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- ↑ Wertheim, Jon (26 May 2014). "Words with...Li Na: A sit-down interview with China's tennis star". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
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- ↑ Although Li is the first Chinese national to have won a Grand Slam singles event, she is not the first ethnic Chinese individual to do so.
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- ↑ Waterson, James (30 June 2011). "Rafael Nadal And Li Na Nominated For Two ESPY Awards". Tennisnow.com. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
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- ↑ "China Media Hail Li Na as Resurgent Champion at Australian Open". Bloomberg. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ O'Shannessy, Craig (3 July 2013). "A Challenge Not Taken, a Match Not Won". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Rogers Cup: Sorana Cirstea beats Li Na to make final". Toronto Star. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na overcomes Peng to defend Shenzhen Open title". Reuters. 4 January 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ Lucas, Dan (25 January 2014). "Li Na wins Australian Open final against Dominika Cibulkova – as it happened". Guardian UK. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ↑ Newbery, Piers (25 January 2014). "Li Na beats Dominika Cibulkova to win Australian Open final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ↑ Nguyen, Courtney (15 March 2014). "Flavia Pennetta stuns Li Na, will face Aga Radwanska in Indian Wells final". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Errani upsets Li to reach Rome semi-finals". ESPN. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Chase, Chris (27 May 2014). "Li Na and Stan Wawrinka made the wrong kind of history at the French Open". USA Today. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Serena Williams and older sister Venus both lose in 2nd round of French Open". Fox News. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na, Carlos Rodriguez part ways". ESPN. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na Announces Retirement". WTA. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Rothenberg, Ben (18 September 2014). "Li Na, Two-Time Major Winner, Is Retiring With Knee Woes". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na Unveils Next Phase Of Career". wtatennis.com. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "2014 espnW Impact 25". Archived from the original on December 16, 2014.
- 1 2 Cheese, Caroline (25 May 2012). "Courting China: Li Na leaps up sport's rich list". CNN. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Nguyen, Courtney (18 April 2013). "Li Na on Time Magazine cover, named one of 100 most influential people". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "The 2013 TIME 100 Cover Shots". Time. 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Evert, Chris (18 April 2013). "The 2013 TIME 100 List - Li Na". Time. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Beech, Hannah (15 May 2014). "The Meaning of Li Na". Time. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ Soong, Kelyn (16 May 2014). "Chinese tennis star Li Na will be on Time magazine cover". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ Hou, Arnold (22 May 2014). "Li Na Enters SportsPro's Most Marketable Athletes List". womenofchina.cn. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ "Six tennis stars make the Forbes Celebrity 100 list". Tennisworldusa.org. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Flannery, Russell (21 May 2012). "Taiwan Singer Jay Chou Tops The 2012 Forbes China Celebrity List". Forbes. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ Flannery, Russell (6 May 2014). "Actress Fan Bingbing Repeats At No. 1 On New Forbes China Celebrity List". Forbes. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na hailed as China' s new idol". Xinhua. 5 June 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li Na Honored At Laureus Awards". 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "Babolat Serial Player Wanted". Babolat. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Moore, Malcolm (2 August 2011). "Li Na poised to become world's top-earning female athlete". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Harwood, Jonathan (2 August 2011). "China's Li Na set to earn more than Maria Sharapova". The Week. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Flannery, Russell (6 June 2011). "Win By China's Li Na To Boost Sponsors, May Spur Spending On Other Stars". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Rossingh, Danielle (31 July 2011). "Li Na Nears Top Earner Sharapova With $42 Million in Endorsement Contracts". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Wilson, Bill (22 June 2014). "Wimbledon 2014: Li Na courts fans and sponsors". BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- 1 2 "Li Na: Tennis player wants the movie about her life to inspire women". CNN. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ "Sharapova breezes through to fourth round". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 January 2005. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Sharapova beats Li to retain Rome title". USA Today. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ "Head to Head with M. Sharapova". wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ↑ "Head to Head with A. Radwanska". wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ "Head to Head Statistics: K. Clijsters und N. Li Year up to 2014". Tennis Datenbank. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li upsets Clijsters in Sydney final". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Clijsters claims Open crown". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Australian Open 2012: Kim Clijsters survives close shave against Li Na". Mirror.co.uk. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Head to Head Statistics: V. Azarenka und N. Li Year up to 2014". Tennis Datenbank. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Li storms to victory in GC Hardcourts final". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 January 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "Azarenka victorious in Sydney decider". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ Briggs, Simon (26 January 2013). "Australian Open final 2013: Victoria Azarenka retains title after tense battle with brave Li Na". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Li Na defeats Victoria Azarenka to qualify for WTA Championships semi-finals". ABC Grandstand Sport. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ↑ "中网球童选拔李娜母校进行 娜爷爷寄语下一代". 腾讯体育. 2011-06-28.
- ↑ 王际凯 (2011-06-05). "亲情浇灌娜朵奇葩 爷爷爸爸把她领进体育门". 楚天金报.
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- ↑ Rossingh, Danielle (2019-04-19). "Li Na: Tennis player wants the movie about her life to inspire women". CNN (in English). Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ↑ "Retired Champion Li Na Announces She's Pregnant". ABC News. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ↑ "Li Na shares delivery-room photo of newborn daughter, Alisa". USA Today. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ↑ "2 Grand Slams und jetzt auch 2 Kinder". spox.com. 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
- ↑ lovetennis (2020-01-11). "Li Na Enjoying Retirement with $10 Million New York Apartment Purchase - Tennis News". Love Tennis (in American English). Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ↑ Prakash (2020-01-11). "Li Na Purchases Apartment in New York for $10.6 Million". Tennis World USA (in English). Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- 1 2 "Li Na [CHN] | career statistics". WTA Tennis. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021.
- ↑ "Li Na [CHN] | career statistics". WTA Tennis. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021.
Read further
[edit | edit source]- Li, Na (2014). Li Na: My Life. Penguin. ISBN 978-0143800057.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Li Na at the Women's Tennis Association
- Li Na at World Tennis
- Li Na at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived)
- Li Na at Wimbledon
- Li Na at ESPN.com
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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- Li Na
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- Asian Games bronze medalists for China
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