China's two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na attends a brand promotion in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in October 2015. (Photo/China Daily)
Retired tennis superstar Li Na has become the global ambassador for the Wuhan Open, a WTA Premier 5 event held in her home city in September, organizers said Tuesday.
The 34-year-old's appointment was announced as the central Chinese city attempts to bring itself onto the international stage with the help of tennis, which is a popular worldwide spectator sport played by millions of recreational players.
"Li Na will visit Paris to promote the Wuhan Open and the city of Wuhan globally during the French Open in May," said Yi Guoqing, the event director of the Wuhan Open, adding that both cities have a tennis tournament and a tower as an iconic landmark - the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan.
Li, two-time Grand Slam champions, will attend the opening ceremony of this year's Wuhan Open as well as a series of promotional activities that involve children, young tennis players, fans and other tennis stars, according to Yi.
Li, who was absent at the press conference, said in a video that "I'm Li Na and I will be waiting for you at the Wuhan Open."
"My hometown Wuhan is where I started my tennis career. Tennis gives me all that I want and to tennis I would give back all that I have. Enabling more ordinary people to play and enjoy tennis will extend my tennis career and fulfill the original intention of the Wuhan Open," she said.
The one-minute video also showed aerial views of Wuhan, which features the Yangtze River and some landmarks and tourist attractions, including the First Yangtze River Bridge, the Yellow Crane Tower and the 15,000-seat stadium at the Wuhan Optics Valley International Tennis Center.
Born and raised in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Li have helped to put Chinese tennis on the global map with her victories at the French and Australian Opens. Her retirement in 2014 has been considered a loss to the Wuhan Open, which is an ambitious undertaking for the city of 10 million people.
The Wuhan Open made its debut in the 2014 season and is the second largest women's tennis tournament in East Asia, after the China Open in Beijing.
