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Li Na Second Highest Earning Female Sportsperson on this Planet: Her Diet and Workout
 In
2013, Li appears on the cover of Time magazine, which named her to its annual
list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes says her earnings
are $18.4 million in 2012. Li had a magical 2011 with appearances in two Grand
Slam finals, including a French Open title, which was the first Grand Slam
singles crown by an Asian-born tennis player.
The win allowed Li to sign seven three-year, multimillion dollar endorsement
deals with Mercedes-Benz, Samsung Electronics and several Chinese firms.
Li Na is a Chinese professional tennis player. As of April 2, 2013, Li has won 7
WTA and 19 ITF singles titles. Li won the 2011 French Open singles title, making
her Asia's first and only Grand Slam singles champion. Before this Li had already
become the first player representing an Asian country to appear in a Grand Slam
singles final, a milestone she achieved at the 2011 Australian Open. She was
also the runner-up at the 2013 Australian Open, three times a quarter-finalist
at Wimbledon and a quarter-finalist at the 2009 US Open. Her career-high singles
ranking is World No. 4 (achieved on June 6, 2011) and is currently the World No.
5 and Chinese No. 1 (out of 3 in the top-100).
Li opened her 2013 season at the very first edition of the Shenzhen Open, her
home-soil event. She cruised to the final with straight-sets defeats of Mandy
Minella, Julie Cohen, Bojana Jovanovski and Peng Shuai, putting her in prime
position to claim her seventh WTA title. Li saw off 5th seed Kl�ra Zakopalov� in
three sets in the final thus claiming her first title of 2013 and seventh of her
career.
Li next played at the Apia International, at which she made consecutive finals
the two previous years, winning in 2011. She had little trouble battling past
Christina McHale and Ayumi Morita the first two rounds. She met young American
Madison Keys in the quarterfinals who proved to be a tougher challenge, with Li
prevailing in three tight sets to book a semifinal showdown with world no. 4
Agnieszka Radwanska. Li looked the winner in the early stages of the match, but
somewhat faltered, producing a high number of unforced errors which handed
Radwanska the first set. She saved four match points on Radwanska's serve in the
ninth game of the second set and three on her own serve in the tenth game.
However, eventually she succumbed to the pressure and a half-volley into the net
sealed the win for Radwanska in an hour and 32 minutes, putting an end to Li
Na's reign.
At the Australian Open Li Na easily went through to the quarterfinals, where she
faced world no. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, who had not dropped a set during a
13-match winning streak. Li became the first player to defeat her this season
and in the semi-finals ousted world no. 2 Maria Sharapova in straight sets, who
had only dropped a record-low nine games in the tournament. This marked Li's
second Australian Open final appearance in three years, finishing runner-up to
Kim Clijsters in 2011. In the final, Li was hampered by injuries, the first of
which occurred at 1�3 in the second set, a fall that saw Li incur a 10-minute
medical timeout. She fell over a second time, not only twisting her left ankle
once more but also knocking the rear of her head on the court, causing a
momentary black-out. Another medical timeout was required. She eventually lost
the match in three sets to Victoria Azarenka.
 The left ankle injury she sustained in the Australian Open decider forced her to
withdraw from subsequent tournaments including the Qatar Total Open, the Indian
Wells Masters, plus an exhibition match at the BNP Paribas Showdown in Hong
Kong. After being side-lined for seven weeks due to injury, Li made a return to
the competition at the Miami Masters as the fifth seed. After a first round bye,
she won her second round against Kiki Bertens in two quick sets without dropping
serve in her first match since the Australian Open final. Next up she faced
Varvara Lepchenko and Garbi�e Muguruza and defeated both in straight sets to set
up a quarterfinal match against world no. 1 Serena Williams. Despite leading 5�2
in the second set and holding a set point on Williams' serve, she did not manage
to find a way to capitalise and went on to lose the match in a tiebreak.
Li's next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the first major
clay-court event of the season. As the second seed, she received a bye in the
first round. She swept past qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round,
setting up a clash with Petra Kvitov� in the quarterfinals. She disposed of
Kvitov� and then surprise semi-finalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands both in straight
sets to advance to the final for the first time, seeking her eighth career
title. The final was a contest between her and Maria Sharapova, whose passage to
the final included three three-set matches lasting over three hours each. She,
however, handily defeated Li in just over 90 minutes, increasing her clay-court
winning streak to 16 and avenging her Australian Open semi-final loss to Li
earlier in the year.
Li was then stunned by lucky loser Madison Keys in the first round of the Mutua
Madrid Open the following week, her first early tournament exit of the season.
Li returned to the Internazionali d'Italia as the defending finalist. After a
first round bye, she defeated Zheng Jie in straight sets. She next squared off
with former doubles partner Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Li in a marathon match
in which Li's inconsistency proved to her be undoing, committing 62 unforced
errors. As one of the favourites, Li's quest for a second Grand Slam title began
when she played Anabel Medina Garrigues in the opening round of Roland Garros,
winning in two sets.
However, she crashed out to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, ranked 67th, in a
rain-interrupted second round match � losing in three sets, bringing her
disappointing clay court season to a close.
Li got her grass court season off to a winning start by beating Aliz� Cornet in
the first round of the 2013 Aegon International, at which she was the second
seed. A quarterfinal encounter with Elena Vesnina was secured after her second
round opponent Marion Bartoli pulled out due to a viral illness. Vesnina won the
match and went on to win the tournament.
Li was the sixth seed at Wimbledon. She defeated Micha�lla Krajicek in the first
round and Simona Halep in a rollercoaster three set match. In the third round
against the No. 32 seed Klara Zakopalova, Li lost the first set, but won the
match in three sets after Zakopalova failed to serve out the match. In the
fourth round she defeated Roberta Vinci. After the match, she revealed that the
secret to her success was the slice practice that her husband Jiang Shan gave
her prior to the match. In her quarterfinal clash with Agnieszka Radwanska, she
was leading 5-4 in the first set and was a set point up when she hit an ace that
was wrongly called out. Li didn't challenge the call, and lost the set. She won
the second set before a brief rain delay halted proceedings at the beginning of
the third. When play resumed, it was Radwanska who raced to a 5-2 lead. Li saved
eight match points, but eventually lost the 2 hour 47 minute match.
 As arguably the most successful Asian female tennis player ever, Li Na has
become one of the most well-known and marketable athletes in the world.; Li
being one of only four athletes to be named on the list. Former world no. 1
Chris Evert writes: "Tennis has exploded in China. The country now has some 15
million tennis players; 116 million watched Li win the French Open. That kind of
exposure is crucial to our sport, and it never would have happened without Li.
At tournaments, I've seen her charm the crowds. When she smiles, everyone melts.
She's just such a breath of fresh air. Her friendly on-court demeanour as well
as her hilariously-witty post-match interviews brings a smile to everyone's
face." In 2012, Forbes listed Li as No. 87 in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Li,
along with the fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova, are the only two female
athletes who cracked the Top 100 earning list. Li was also ranked No. 5 in the
Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.
Li is affectionately called "Big Sister Na" among Chinese communities and is
considered a "strong, unbending and unyielding" role model. She has not only
become a household name across China but a global icon, with her Sina Weibo
micro blogging having over 21 million followers as of April 2013. Her perceived
rebelliousness, exemplified by the tattoo on her chest and her previous run-ins
with government sports programs, also helped boost her popularity.
Nike has been Li's clothing and footwear sponsor for many years, dated back to
her early tennis career. Li uses Babolat Pure Drive GT rackets. In 2009, Li was
signed by IMG. She rose to fame after her Roland Garros triumph, and since has
signed seven endorsements in multiple-year terms. Her agent, Max Eisenbud, also
managed to negotiate a deal allowing Li to wear other sponsors' patches on her
Nike tennis shirt, something not usually permitted by the sportswear giant.
Kunlun Mountains promotion featuring Li Na, in a shop in Wenzhou, China. Li's
sponsors, past and present, include: Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Taikang Life
Insurance, Kunlun Mountains, H�agen-Dazs, Rolex, Samsung, Spider Tech, Crown
Limited, Babolat, Visa Inc., Yili Group.
Li Na Diet
 Strawberries and cream are as much a part of Wimbledon as the all-white outfits
and Royal Box. But it isn�t just the fans who arrive at the All England Club to
scarf down large quantities of the famous treat. �I have them every day,� says
2011 French Open champ Li Na of her Wimbledon diet. �That�s no joke!�
But when it comes to pre-match eats, the No. 7-ranked Li keeps it simple.
�Chinese rice with just a bit of meat, chicken or beef,� says Li. �And I drink
only water.� For breakfast? �Nothing with sugar. Always cereal with milk and
fruit. Then after I hit, a small sandwich. More water.�
Once she�s done competing, however, the rules go out the window. �When I travel
the world, I want real Chinese food,� says Li. �In Western restaurants, they
cook to the taste of Europeans. So I say, �Put spice in it�spicy hot sauce.��
Just not on her strawberries and cream.
Li Na workout
Li Na thought her new coach, Carlos Rodriguez, was "crazy" when he pushed her so
hard in training last year, but the 30-year-old Chinese admits she is now
reaping the benefit. Li reached her third Australian Open semi-final in four
years when she beat Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3 yesterday to earn a showdown
with Maria Sharapova.
Rodriguez, who guided Justine Henin to seven Grand Slam titles, started working
with Li after she had disappointed at Wimbledon and the Olympics last summer.
Her previous coach was her husband, Jiang Shan, whom she called in despair after
her first taste of six-hour workouts at Rodriguez's academy in Beijing. "After
three days, I was dying," she said. "Because my husband didn't come with me to
Beijing, I called him and said: 'Carlos is crazy'."
There are some significant links between Li and Sharapova. Thomas Hogstedt,
Sharapova's coach, used to work with the Chinese, while the two players share
the same agent, Max Eisenbud.
Dated 16 July 2013
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