Li Na: “Just because I’m not playing tennis doesn’t mean I’m completely detached from it”
The former world No 2 from China retired in 2014
Photoshot / Panoramic
Tennis continues to remain an integral part of Li Na‘s life even though she hung up her racquet in September 2014.
Li, the two-time Grand Slam champion from China, was recently in Hong Kong for the inauguration of a Laureus Sport for Good facility. There, she sat down with ‘Olympics.com’ and assured the tennis community of staying with the racquet sport in years to come.
“I rarely play tennis now, because I have been retired for 10 years,” Li began. “But just because I’m not playing tennis doesn’t mean that I’m completely detached from it. I may not be appearing in front of everyone as a player but I will continue to contribute to tennis in another capacity.”
Beginning her professional career in 1999, Li went on to win the 2011 French Open and the 2014 Australian Open, which propelled her to a career-high ranking of world No 2. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019 for her distinguished achievements.
“In China — men’s tennis has also shown improvement”
Li had so much to be proud of the Chinese tennis in 2024 as she saw compatriot Zheng Qinwen breach the WTA top 10 in singles and clinch a singles gold medal at the Olympics. On the ATP circuit, the rise of Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zhizhen has also pleased the former player.
“Tennis is developing better and better in China,” Li continued in Hong Kong. “For me, I am very proud of them because not only has women’s tennis developed well, but men’s tennis has also shown improvement.
“As a tennis player, we are certainly looking forward to seeing more young players reaching a high ranking and this will allow more people and fans to get involved in tennis. And that is also what we can do more.”
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