The former French Open and Australian Open champion and the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam singles title, Li Na has announced of her decision to retire from the games. The reason for her early retirement was her impending knee injury that had been bothering her tennis career.
Li Na has posted an open letter in the internet quieting all speculations and talks of retirement. In the letter she says "The task of finally making a decision to hang up my racquet felt a lot more difficult than winning seven matches in a row in the Australian heat. It took me several agonizing months to finally come to the decision that my chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be. Walking away from the sport, effective immediately, is the right decision for me and my family."
Li Na last played during a third-round loss at Wimbledon in July. She withdraws from the US Opens last August as well. Li had three surgeries on her right knee from 2008 to 2009 to alleviate problems caused by excess cartilage. She then went for her fourth surgery after losing in Wimbledon.
She said "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."
WTA's chief executive, Stacey Allaster only has praises for the Chinese star saying "Without question I believe that Li Na is the player of this decade who will have the most impact on the growth of women's tennis. We will see the fruit of her contributions. We're experiencing them now, but they will be long-lasting throughout the rest of this decade, and I believe for decades to come."
She even compared Li Na to being the Asian version of Billie Jean King saying "When we look at the foundation of the WTA. it was about a women's organization becoming commercially successful so that any girl, anywhere in the world, if she dreamt about playing women's professional tennis, that she could. And it was about driving social change. Li Na has done all of those things, for herself and for her country, and for women."
