Li Na First Asian-Born Player Inducted Into Tennis HOF

Li Na of China "became the first Asian-born player to be inducted" into the Int'l Tennis HOF yesterday. She was "enshrined along with Mary Pierce of France and Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov during a lengthy on-court ceremony that followed the Hall of Fame Open semifinals and stretched from sunset into nighttime, forcing grounds’ crew members to scramble and bring in smaller spotlights" (AP, 7/20). Big "does not even begin to describe [Na's] enduring impact." In '11, there were two WTA events in China, including the China Open. This year, there are 11. In addition, China has 10 women in the top 200 in singles and 51 in the top 850. Grass-roots participation in China has "soared, too, with an estimated 14 million players" driving a $4B industry (N.Y. TIMES, 7/20).