Intro:

The trailblazer for Asian tennis - two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na - announced her retirement from the WTA Tour on Friday (19 September).

Script:

After weeks of speculation, 32-year-old Li Na announced that she was hanging up her racquet on Friday.

Li cited recurring knee injuries as her reason to quit - with immediate effect.

In 2004 she became the first Chinese player to win a WTA title.

Li reached new heights as the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam - at Roland Garros in 2011, before doubling her Grand Slam tally at the Australian Open this year.

And it was clear her fellow players were fond of the double Grand Slam winner....

"I am really going to miss Li Na, she's such a great person, she's so fun to be around, she's hilarious, so I am definitely going to miss her in the locker room. She actually still owes me to take me to a manicure and pedicure place in Beijing so maybe now she'll have more time. She's such a great competitor, she's been a great role model for sports in general and definitely for tennis in Asia. She has been such a great representative, she is definitely going to be very missed."

"Tennis which has moved the tournaments to China, so much more development on the women's side of the Tour, to have the tournaments there and compared to when we started there was nothing, maybe some little tournament, 10,000, 25,000, nothing like as big as it is now. It's a sad day for Chinese tennis and for the global sport in general."