Tennis star Li Na is celebrating after winning the French Open title on June 4, 2011.(Xinhua/Tao Xiyi/File photo)
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- About one year after two times Grand Slam champion Li Na retired from the sport, the Chinese legend looks forward to a new champion who can take her place.
In a latest interview with CNN, Li said she did not want people to remember her "because if people remember Li for too long, that means tennis did not grow up in China."
"We need a new champion to kick me out," Li said.
Without Li, it is difficult to make the Chinese tennis a topic in any Grand Slam tournament.
After Li's retirement last September, the Chinese players hardly staged eye-catching performances except for Peng Shuai's semifinals run in the US Open last year.
As one of the most influential and pioneering Chinese athletes of her generation, Li advised her successors to take it slow, and she said "being confident, strong and tough" will be the key to victory.
"I think the female players are pretty much close to the top players, but male players are far away from the world elite. If they work hard, if they are not lazy like now, they will make it finally," Li half-joked.
Last year the tennis trailblazer was forced to retire at the height of her game due to a recurring knee injury, but Li still felt satisfied with her stellar career.
"Everything I did paid back, it doesn't matter how hard I was working. Some athletes paid a lot, but was never paid back. I am the lucky one."
After retirement, Li has become a mother and she will open her tennis academy. "Not everyone can become professional. I just want the kids to pick up the racket, go to the tennis court, feel excited and feel happy. That's it."
