Li Is Losing Some Of Her Sweetness At Press Conferences

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 23rd August 2013

Li Is Losing Some Of Her Sweetness At Press Conferences

epa03771251 Na Li of China reacts during her quarter-final match against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 02 July 2013. EPA/TOM HEVEZI |

Na Li, the former French Open champion and fifth seed at next week’s US Open, has always been regarded as something of a firebrand after famously standing up to the Chinese government with demands for a much smaller percentage of her prize money going to the state. Now her temperament is in question following two outbursts at journalist Wang Zijiang of official news agency Xinhua.

The player, clearly a contender for the later stages at Flushing Meadows after reaching recent semi-finals at both Toronto and Cincinnati, turned on the journalist after both her second-round loss at the French Open against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her Wimbledon quarterfinal exit to Agnieszka Radwanska.

At Roland Garros Li Na was asked if she had a message for fans back home. She angrily replied: “I lost a game and that’s it. Do I need to get on my knees and kowtow to them? Apologize to them?”

When asked the same question a month later at Wimbledon, Li said: “How dare he? Doesn’t he have any shame?”

Wang, a London-based sports reporter for Xinhua, said her response had “shocked” him and that she had “definitely overreacted”, adding Li could often choose which questions to answer as she was such a prominent figure in China and so important to most media outlets.

“Many can only ask questions which please her, and this allows Li Na to confront the media and gives her a feeling of looking down on them,” he said.

“Li Na has been spoiled in this media environment. When she answers to the media, she is not professional, she really is childish. And being faced with direct questions from Xinhua – whose purpose is not to gain attention and improve newspaper sales – her sensitive self-esteem cannot cope.”

The reactions had prompted widespread denunciations on China’s hugely popular microblogging sites and one of Xinhua’s top sports commentary writers Zhang Rongfeng said Li had a “weakness of character”.

“When she wins a game, she has a better attitude and is nice to the media. But if she loses, she transfers her bad temper from the tennis court,” he said.

Li Na famously refused to offer any gratitude to the Chinese government or Communist regime after her 2011 title win at Roland Garros. She thanked her family and even her sponsors, but not China.

She has since made it a point to remind people that the victory was hers, not that of the Chinese nation or of its state-run sports system. “I appreciate everyone’s support, but it was by my own personal diligence that I won it,” she maintained.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Li Na, Radwanska, Tennis, US Open