Li Na: enjoy life, not back to tennis

SINGAPORE - Li Na, the world famous Chinese tennis player who retired from the sport last month, said she misses her tennis friends "off the court", and will not go back to play tennis, in a press conference during the ongoing WTA World Tour Finals in Singapore on Sunday.

Li, who is appointed as an official ambassador for the tournament by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), attended the press conference with the other eight top players who will be competing for the tournament on Oct. 17 - 26.

Talking about life after retirement, the 32-year-old former top player said she feels "pretty nice" having no schedule, adding that the biggest surprise she had during the last month was the Golden Week, a seven-day holiday in celebration of the national day.

"When the National day is coming, (I) just stay at home," Li smiled, "I don't have to work, think about the schedule, or worry about when I wake up."

Li, who is struggling with long-running injuries for the previous years, stressed that she is "not going back to tennis."

"I'm already 32," said Li, "I think I should take care of my family right now, because last 32 years I tried my best on tennis court." But as a tennis fan, she said she will always enjoy the game.

Li's schedule in Singapore are packed with multiple activities. She will meet with fans at the WTA Fan Fest and also participant of the Under-14 and Under-16 Future Stars events, which feature players from 12 countries across Asia-Pacific. Li will also be at the opening ceremony of the main tournament on Monday, which is the first time in WTA history the tournament held in Asia.

The draw made on Saturday put the top two seeds Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the headliners in the Red Group and White Group, respectively. Williams will face Simona Halep of Romania and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada along with former French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, while Sharapova's opponents will be in-form Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

Another highlight will be the top pairing of Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei, who will seek to defend their doubles title here despite they have announced they split after losing in the last 16 of the U.S. Open.