Pioneering Chinese tennis star Li Na said Sunday she has “no regrets” about her decision to retire over persistent knee injuries, but told an emotional news conference she reached the decision only after thinking long and hard.
The two-time grand slam winner made her first public remarks since she announced her shock retirement via social media on Friday.
“I’m very satisfied with my tennis career,” the 32-year-old Li said at a news conference at China’s National Tennis Centre, which hosts the China Open later this month.
“I feel this is the best time for me to retire. I don’t feel sorry or have any regrets about retiring. When I was making this decision, I asked myself, ‘If I retire, will I regret it?’”
“My heart told me I wouldn’t, because I’ve done my best,” she said.
The event was an emotional one both for Li and the nearly 200 journalists who attended her farewell.
At one point, a Chinese journalist raised his hand to ask a question, but then suddenly went silent before breaking down into tears.
Li responded with her characteristic wit.
“Here, take this,” she said, holding out a tissue from her seat at the podium and holding back tears of her own.
Li’s announcement comes just seven months after she lifted the Australian Open title, one of her career highlights following her historic French Open win of 2011.
In postings on Facebook and Chinese social media Friday, she wrote that “after four knee surgeries and hundreds of shots injected into my knee weekly to alleviate swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the pounding”.
On Sunday, as she ended a career that has brought her nine titles and introduced tennis to the masses in China, she maintained that she has “done no great thing”.
“I want to tell everyone – because everyone has his or her own dream – you must keep pursuing your dream,” she said.
The next Li Na may arrive “at any moment”, she added.
“Just keep an eye out,” she said. “The next player will be even better than me.”
Li’s news conference coincided with the first day of the Wuhan Open, a new premier-level tournament which has been established on the back of Li’s success.
The US$2.4 million (Dh8.8m) event, which will be headlined by Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, is being held in Li’s home city in central China’s Hubei province. The tennis trailblazer is expected to meet fans there on Tuesday.
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Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
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Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
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Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.