Li Na's Aussie Open Performance Increases Popularity In China, Maintains Commercial Clout

Chinese tennis player LI NA "is the most popular person in China again thanks to her resurgence at the Australian Open," in which she finished second, according to Tang Zhe of the CHINA DAILY. CCTV-5 Dir JIANG HEPING revealed that Li's battle for the Grand Slam title on Saturday reached a 7.57 market share, and a total audience of 18 million. Li wrote a message on her Weibo account, which is China's version of Twitter, after the game, "and the message has been forwarded more than 60,000 times within a day" (CHINA DAILY, 1/29). WANT CHINA TIMES noted Shanghai's First Financial Daily reported Li reaching the final "dismissed earlier worries among her sponsors." An exec "from a mid-range sports brand" said: "I believe in the next one to two years, Li Na's commercial value still has room for growth" (WANT CHINA TIMES, 1/29).