LOS ANGELES • China will likely produce another Grand Slam women's singles champion in the next decade, predicts Li Na, the only player from her country to taste victory in any of tennis' four major tournaments.
As she prepares to reflect on her career at her induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island today, the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open champion has an eye on the future of the sport in her home country.
Li added the move of the WTA Finals tournament from Singapore to Shenzhen for the next decade will inspire Chinese players, even if they are not playing in the event.
The season-ending event, which will start in October, will make its bow in the Chinese city after five years in the Republic.
"(Having the event in China is) not only good for the fans, it's also good for the athletes, especially the young athletes," she told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
"Face-to-face, they can see the top players. It's not only on, but also off the court, the professional tennis life (that is important)."
Until Japan's Naomi Osaka won last year's US Open, Li was the only Grand Slam winner from Asia, male or female, and she will be the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
China has four women ranked in the world's top 100, but no men in the top 200. Unsurprisingly, Li said it was more likely a woman would win the nation's next Grand Slam.
"The women's side is much easier because after I won the Grand Slam, young girls think they can do the same," she said. "For the men's, it's a little bit tough."
Li, 37, retired in 2014 after battling knee injuries for several years.
Besides her two Grand Slam wins, she also made it to the 2011 and 2013 finals of the Australian Open in her 15-year career. She said, however, that her best performance did not come at a Grand Slam. It was in Stuttgart, where she beat former world No. 1 Serena Williams 0-6, 6-1, 6-4 in 2008.
"Only once I beat Serena," Li said, laughing when asked whether Williams had been her toughest opponent. "Right answer."
REUTERS
