China’s Li Na announced her retirement at the age of 32 over persistent knee injuries on Friday, prompting a wave of adulation for Asia’s greatest and most influential tennis player. Li, the first Asian national to win a Grand Slam singles title, said ‘my body is begging me to stop the pounding’ as she ended a career that brought her nine titles and introduced tennis to the masses in China.
‘As a professional tennis player, it is the best decision for me to leave the field,’ Li posted on her Sina Weibo microblog, adding that injuries have ‘for a long time prevented me playing as I had before’.
‘I’ve achieved far more than I’d dreamed for, and it’s my biggest pride to have won glory for the country,’ she wrote. The announcement comes just seven months after Li lifted the Australian Open title, one of her career highlights following her historic French Open win of 2011.
That heady night in Melbourne proved the last time Li would win a trophy as she fell victim to her knee injuries and was sidelined since losing in Wimbledon’s third round in June.
‘As a professional tennis player, it is the best decision for me to leave the field,’ Li posted on her Sina Weibo microblog, adding that injuries have ‘for a long time prevented me playing as I had before’.
‘I’ve achieved far more than I’d dreamed for, and it’s my biggest pride to have won glory for the country,’ she wrote. The announcement comes just seven months after Li lifted the Australian Open title, one of her career highlights following her historic French Open win of 2011.
That heady night in Melbourne proved the last time Li would win a trophy as she fell victim to her knee injuries and was sidelined since losing in Wimbledon’s third round in June.