Tennis: China netizens turn on Li Na after outburst following French Open defeat
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2011 Roland Garros winner Li Na of China, walks away from the net in her second round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US, at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on Thursday, May 30, 2013. China's only Grand Slam winner, Li, was the object of widespread media and online criticism in her home country on Friday after a graceless response to her French Open defeat. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
BEIJING (AFP) - China's only Grand Slam winner Li Na was the object of widespread media and online criticism in her home country on Friday after a graceless response to her French Open defeat.
Li, who won the tennis tournament in 2011 to seal her place as one of China's sporting stars, crashed out on Thursday 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to unseeded American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a rain-interrupted second-round match.
At the post-match press conference, the sixth seed reacted tersely when asked if she had an explanation for her fans at home.
"Do I need to explain?" she replied in Mandarin. "It's strange. I lost a game and that's it. Do I need to get on my knees and kowtow to them? Apologise to them?"
