TennisWorthy: Li Na and Her Fight for Her Game

When Li Na set out on her tennis journey, she didn’t plan to be a trailblazer. She just wanted to play. But in China, a country with little tradition at the highest level of the game, she broke through barriers that might have disheartened someone with less determination.

The chronic, painful knee issues she endured during the prime of her career might have discouraged someone less ambitious. And in the end, one major title (at Roland-Garros in 2011) might have been enough for some players.

It wasn’t enough for her. But time was running out.

Li Na’s right knee had been on borrowed time after three surgeries within 18 months in 2008 and 2009. There were weekly injections. She even injected herself, in the stomach, when she had to. There was chronic pain.

Before the 2010 Australian Open, two and a half syringes of fluid were drained from her knee – in one sitting. And still, she made the semifinals.

And as long as she continued to play and train, the cartilage issue would never be resolved.

So at 30, Li Na reinvented both herself – and her game.

Of the many challenges she faced in her career, that might have been the most daunting.

Taking a step back in order to take two steps forward, to reinvent her game and extend her career? That’s a risk most pro players are loath to take at 18. Never mind at 30.

So why did she take the plunge?

“Because I’m not very smart,” Li Na said, laughing. 

At just 36, she was back in Melbourne, Australia in January for the announcement that she was to be part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019.

“When I returned from the injury, it was a tough call, but I got professional advice from my coach at the time, Carlos Rodriguez,” she said. “He told me that there were two scenarios. If I stayed playing the way I was, maybe I could get back to being half as good as I was before the injury. If I changed my play, my style on court, I could be on top. But I was going to have to work very hard.”

Already, it had been a very good career. But there was a chance it could become a great career.

Li Na opted, as ever, for the less-safe option.

“I chose it because of my ambition, and my fighting spirit. It was hard, and it was risky, but it was the correct decision,” she said.

Rodriguez had her change her grips on the serve and the backhand to add some spin – which meant trying to erase 20 years of muscle memory in a short period of time. And he told her that she should come in more and volley.

A lot of coaches say this to their WTA Tour players. Most would react as Li Na did; she thought Rodriguez was “crazy.” 

But she did it.

In her biography, she wrote this: “A different coach may well have said things like, ‘This woman is already 30. Her technique is mature and she’s set in her ways… To be honest, change requires a great deal of courage for a 30-year-old woman. She might even lose some of her strong points in changing.’ Not everyone has the capacity to bear what’s going to happen and the possible consequences.”

They addressed tactics. Nutrition. Fitness. And, most of all, Li Na’s mindset. She worked harder than she ever had. It all came together as she won the 2014 Australian Open. It was her second Grand Slam singles title, cementing her place in history.

Through it all, Li Na said she never thought about giving up.

“I had four operations. The last time, I tried to come back to the court, but I couldn’t. That was the first time I thought, ‘Oh, maybe it’s time to retire’. But before that, I never thought about retiring. I always thought, ‘You need to give yourself one more chance, try, to see how far you can go. Maybe you can be No. 1, or you can win another Grand Slam,’ ” she said.

Five years after that final triumph, Li Na was on Rod Laver Arena to award the Daphne Akhurst Trophy to women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka.

She was greeted like royalty, like the Hall of Famer she soon will become.

“She’s the inspiration of the growth of tennis in China. I can only imagine how many people have experienced the sport of tennis that wouldn't have, if it weren't for Li Na's accomplishments,” International Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin said.

Even now, with a film biography in the works, with all the commotion she still creates, and as a generation of promising young female Chinese players follows in her footsteps, Li Na doesn’t look back and think about all that she overcame.

“Maybe, when I sit in my room, I think, ‘you’re doing good.’ But most of the time I just thought I did a good job. Because tennis was my job, just like a lawyer or a teacher,” she said. “Retiring is just for tennis, not for life. Life will continue.”

Stephanie Myles has been covering tennis as a journalist since the 1990s, and watching it since the days of wooden rackets. The editor-in-chief of Tennis.Life, she also has carried the flag at the senior international level as a player.