Li And Peng Make WTA Rankings History For China

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 18th February 2014

Li And Peng Make WTA Rankings History For China

epa04081344 Shuai Peng (L) of China and Su-Wei Hsieh (R) of Taiwan pose with their trophies after beating Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia in their doubles final match at the WTA Qatar Ladies Open tennis tournament at the International Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 16 February 2014. EPA/STRINGER |

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced that Li Na and Peng Shuai have set new national records for Chinese tennis following their rise to career-high rankings in the latest WTA rankings released Monday. Two-time Grand Slam event champion Li Na becomes the first Asian player to hold the WTA World No.2 singles ranking, while Peng Shuai is the first Chinese player to ascend to the WTA World No.1 doubles ranking.

“I’d like to congratulate Li Na and Peng Shuai on their achievements and rise up the WTA rankings to respective career-highs,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman and CEO. “As they have done throughout their careers, both players continue to set new milestones for Chinese tennis. Their accomplishments are truly inspirational and the WTA is fortunate to have such ambassadors representing the sport around the world.

“I’m also thrilled that with a record number of WTA events to be held in Asia-Pacific in 2014, culminating in the WTA Championships in Singapore, Asian fans will have a unique opportunity to see their heroines in action in the months and years ahead.”

“To go to No.2 in the world is definitely a proud accomplishment for me and my team,” said Li . “We have worked very hard and look to improve every week. It is an exciting time for tennis in China…I’m confident that younger players will do better than what we’ve achieved.”

Now 28 years of age, Peng teamed up with Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei for a breakthrough year in 2013. The pair won five doubles titles, highlighted by their first major championship at Wimbledon. Hsieh became the first player from Chinese Taipei and Peng the fifth Chinese player to win a Grand Slam event title of any kind.

The duo concluded the year by becoming the first team from Asia to win the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul. They also raised the champions’ trophy at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati) and Guangzhou Open.

Following their success at last week’s Qatar Total Open (Doha), the pair now has a perfect 10-0 record in doubles finals.

Topics: 10sballs, Istanbul, Li Na, Peng Shuai, rankings, Sports, TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta