Li Na

Li Na is a female Chinese professional tennis player. She was born on February 26, 1982 at Wuhan, Hubei, China. Her parents are Sheng-Peng (father) and Yan-Ping (mother), and she is an only child. She became a tennis player at the age of 9 after being a badminton player for two years. She is coached by her husband Jiang Shan, who she married on January 27, 2006.

It was in 1999 that she had a very impressive season: winning three singles titles and eight double titles on the ITF Circuit. However, 2004 is considered to be her breakthrough season. It was highlighted by impressive plays in back-to-back Tour events held in China. This was when she became the first Chinese to win a Tour singles titles.

Her best season to date was in 2006 which in turn meant several firsts for China. This was the year she became the first ever Chinese player to climb up and reach Top 30 and Top 20, and became the first Chinese to reach a Grand Slam singles QF at Wimbledon. After a three years’ drought, she got another WTA Tour title - her second.

She is known for her style of playing for quick reflexes, and for her athleticism all around the court. Her fast groundstrokes, which she scatters to all four corners of the court unpredictably, are also well noted.

In her years as a professional player, she has 388 wins over 147 losses in singles, and 120-49 games in doubles. In all her years, she has garnered two ATP titles. 2011 has been a successful year for Li, who was able to finally achieve her goal of winning a Grand Slam tournament when she won the French Open. She also reached the final round of the Australian Open of the said year, but lost to Kim Clijsters.