China’s Li Na, Asia’s only grand slam singles champion, announced her retirement from tennis on Friday, due to the effect of long-term knee injuries.
“The task of finally making a decision to retire is a lot more difficult than winning seven matches in a row,” she said in a letter posted on her Facebook page. “It took me several very painful months to finally come to the decision that my chronic(慢性的)injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be.”
The 32-year-old, known as “Big Sister Na” and “Golden Flower” in China, won the 2011 French Open then this year’s Australian Open. She climbed to number two in the world rankings but her knees were getting worse and she skipped this year’s U.S. Open. This led to people’s guess that her fruitful career was drawing to a close.
“Most people in the tennis world know that my career has been marked by my troubled right knee. The black brace I wear over it when I step on the court has become my tennis birth mark. And while the brace completes my tennis look, the knee problems have at times overtaken my life,” she said. “After four knee operations and hundreds of shots injected into my knee weekly to stop swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the injury.”
One of the most popular and marketable players on the tour, news of her retirement set off a flood of tributes.
The Chinese Tennis Association, in a statement of the official Xinhua news agency, said it respected her decision and wished her the best. “We also thank Li Na for the optimistic and proud, shining moments she gave to Chinese tennis in her competitive career,” it said.
Top tennis players posted notes to her on their social media accounts. Caroline Wozniacki wrote: “Li Na, one of the funniest and nicest players on tour! A great competitor and a role model both on and off the court! You will be missed!! An exciting new chapter starts today!”
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