Tennis chief: 'Lack of education' is hurting Li Na
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E-mail Xinhua, September 5, 2012
China's tennis chief has pointed out that lack of systematic education was the reason for Li Na's failures after her Paris success.
Sun Jinfang, director of China's tennis administrative center, said in a TV interview that education should be more emphasized in the country's sports training system to avoid what was happening to Li Na.
"We've seen lots of meltdowns from Li in recent months," Sun said. "It's quite normal, in my opinion, to an old-school Chinese sportswoman who didn't receive enough education to have a strong mind. Li Na has made the choice to concentrate on tennis from a very early age, but a very important piece of her education has been missing.
"Consequently, she has not developed enough mentally. There are lots of things that she cannot work out for herself.
"She knows when she is on the verge of a (mental) collapse... but she does not know how to react to this situation.
"Without good education, sportsmen or women are just like well designed computers but with ill-suited software that cannot perform to their best," Sun said.
Li won the French Open title in 2011 but exited early from the next two grand slam events. At the US Open, the ninth seeded Li was ousted by British teenager Laura Robson in the third round.
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