Feature: Li Na, from tennis rebel to Hall of Famer (updated)

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By Xinhua writer Qin Lang

NEW YORK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Li Na, one of China's greatest ever sportspeople, has made it into the pantheon of the world's greatest tennis players.

The two-time Grand Slam singles champion entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday in Rhode Island of the United States, becoming the first Asian-born player to receive such an accolade.

For the Hall of Fame's Class of 2019, a fan voting system was used for the first time.

The balloting attracted votes from more than 130 countries and regions, and resulted in Li receiving first place out of eight nominated candidates.

"This means, for me, everything," the 37-year-old said. "I started playing tennis when I was eight. I hated tennis because during school I had no time to play with my friends."

"[But] as time went by, I really enjoyed this amazing sport. Tennis has taken me around the world, exploring different countries because of this great sport.

"In the future, I will do all I can to inspire and help more young and upcoming players in the hope that they can enjoy this amazing sport."

Li often describes her relationship with tennis as "love/hate". When she was a girl, training was grueling, coaches were critical and glory seemed so far away. As she grew up, she sported earrings and tattoos - rare for a female Chinese athlete - and also courted controversy for criticizing China's traditional training system for tennis players in which she grew up.

Li took nine WTA titles on grass, clay and hard courts, and was ranked as high as world No. 2 in early 2014.

The Chinese player broke down several barriers in the course of her career, becoming the first Grand Slam singles champion from both China and Asia after claiming the 2011 French Open, a feat she repeated in 2014 by winning that year's Australian Open.

But despite Li's reputation as a pioneer and a trailblazer, her path to the top was anything but conventional.

Born into an athletic family in Wuhan in central China, Li began playing sports at a young age. She shared a very deep and caring relationship with her father, whose original intention for her was to follow in his footsteps and become a professional badminton player.

After two years' training, Li was told by her coach that she was more suited to tennis. Seeing Li picking up a tennis racket, her father's eyes lit up. He instantly knew his daughter would go far in this game.

Li didn't disappoint her father and made steady progress. Tragedy struck when she was 14, however, when a rare cardiovascular disease took her father away. Li realized then that tennis was, as she put it, her "only chance" to support her family. She practised as hard as she could in order to fulfil her father's dream of winning gold at China's National Games.

At the ninth National Games in 2001, Li won three gold medals and duly stepped onto the top step of the podium, a position her father had never risen to.

But after winning national titles, she soon walked away from the sport amid health and personal reasons. Along with Jiang Shan, her mixed doubles partner who later became her husband, Li instead enrolled at college, where life was calm and almost without tennis.

Li recalled that her two years at university gave her new perspectives on both life and tennis, as well as a passion to explore again. She decided to return to court and never looked back.

In 2011, when she played in the French Open at Roland Garros, 116 million people in China watched the final on television. "Tennis has exploded in China," wrote 18-time Grand Slam winner Chris Evert in 2013. "The country now has some 15 million tennis players, and it never would have happened without Li."

Li is one of the most influential sports icons in China. Before Li's 2011 French Open victory, there were two WTA events in China. In 2019, there are 11. China now has 10 women in the world top 200 in singles and 13 in the top 200 in doubles, with grassroots participation also having risen tremendously.

Li is known for both her fiery temper and wicked sense of humor. "I have a temper like a firecracker," she said. "But when I get angry, I feel fired up."

This may come as no surprise to those who have watched her shout at her helpless husband during matches. One of Li's most famous lines came as she addressed her husband after the 2011 Australian Open final: "I made a lot of jokes [about] him, but it doesn't matter if you are fat or skinny, handsome or ugly, I'll always follow you and always love you."

When she thanked her agent after the 2014 Australian Open final, Li said: "Max, agent, make me rich." Then she turned to her husband: "You're a nice guy. And also, you're so lucky, you found me!"

Li announced her retirement in 2014, but her induction into the Hall of Fame once again reminds us how she influenced the game, Chinese tennis players and athletes in other sports. As Serena Williams once said, Li Na is "a star in the sky that always shines, and it's always going to be there." Enditem

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