2014 Li Na tennis season

August 2022 Li_Na_Miami_2014.jpg Li at the 2014 Miami Masters 300px Li Na China $3,409,885 28–7 (80%) 2 No. 6 3 W 1R 3R A Knee injury (US Open Series) 8 September 2014 Li Na The 2014 Li Na tennis season officially began on 30 December with the start of the 2014 WTA Tour as the defending champion of the 2014 Shenzhen Open. In July, Li ended her nearly 2 year collaboration with coach Carlos Rodríguez. Li announced her retirement from professional tennis on 19 September citing recurring and worsening knee injuries. Li also made the longest winning streak in 2014 WTA Tour with 13. Yearly summary Early hard court season and Australian Open Shenzhen Open Li Na started her season as the defending champion at the 2014 Shenzhen Open. She defeated former world number two and wildcard Vera Zvonareva and Nadiia Kichenok in the first two rounds, before being challenged by Monica Niculescu in the quarterfinals, winning in three tight sets. She then defeated rising German Annika Beck in the semifinals to reach the final for the second consecutive year, where she defeated compatriot Peng Shuai in straight sets, marking the first successful title defense of her career. Australian Open Instead of more preparation in Sydney, Li chose to compete at the Australian Open directly this year, at which she had been a finalist twice in the last three years. Intent on going one better, Li routed current junior top 2 players Ana Konjuh and Belinda Bencic in the first two rounds. After quickly losing an error strewn first set against Lucie Šafářová, she fended off a match point when trailing 5–6 in the second before rebounding in the tiebreak and decisive set to avoid the upset. She finished the match with 17 winners to 50 unforced errors. In her fourth round encounter with Ekaterina Makarova, Li delivered the third bagel in the tournament, easing through with a straight set victory. Li followed this up with another dominant performance against first-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Flavia Pennetta to set up a clash with teenager Eugenie Bouchard in the last four. Li easily won the first set having won 20 of the first 23 points to lead 5–0. Down 0–2 in the second set, she reeled off six of the next eight games to close out the Canadian. She reached the final for the third time, where she faced maiden Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulková. After winning the first set in a tiebreak, Li stormed through the second set at love to claim her second Grand Slam title, thus becoming the first Asian Australian Open champion and sixth woman to win the title after being match point down.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/25/li-na-v-dominika-cibulkova-live Li Na wins Australian Open final against Dominika Cibulkova – as it happened 25 January 2014 The Guardian 27 January 2014 https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/tennis/25875113 Li Na beats Dominika Cibulkova to win Australian Open final 25 January 2014 BBC Sport 27 January 2014 Her post-match speech became one of the most talked-about moments in the event. Because of her limited English, she jokingly remarked that her agent should "make [her] rich" and her husband is "lucky" to find her before thanking the crowd and everyone involved.Li Na Gives The Best Australian Open Victory Speech EverHerald Sun https://web.archive.org/web/20140207122310/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/li-na-gives-the-best-australian-open-victory-speech-ever/story-fnkrowp0-1226810463530 7 February 2014 Middle East series Qatar Open Since Li missed out on last year edition's of the Qatar Open due to injury, she had no points to defend. She won her second round match against Magdaléna Rybáriková before being upset by qualifier and world No. 134 Petra Cetkovská in three sets, her first loss of the season. However, she reached a new career-high of world No. 2 after the tournament as a result of defending champion and current world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka's withdrawal. North American hard court season Indian Wells Masters After missing Indian Wells in 2013, Li was the first seed this year in the absence of Serena Williams, the first time she was seeded first at a Premier Mandatory event. She enjoyed a first round bye before dispatching compatriot Zheng Jie, Karolína Plíšková and Aleksandra Wozniak in convincing fashion. In the quarterfinals she faced her first top 20 opponent of the season in Dominika Cibulková, a rematch of the Australian Open final. After Li took the opening set comfortably, Cibulková quickly built a 5–1 lead in the second due a plethora of unforced errors off Li's racquet. Li managed to recover three games but was unable to salvage the set. After the pair traded breaks early in the third, Cibulková held double break point with Li serving at 3-all. From there Li won 12 of the next 16 points to clinch the final three games and the victory after 2 hours and 36 minutes of play, maintaining her perfect record against the Slovak. With this win, Li advanced to her first Indian Wells semifinal since 2007.Li Na Wins Australian Open Rematch http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/News/Tennis/2014/Tournament/WTA-Thursday2-Li-Cibulkova-Stephens-Pennetta.aspx 16 March 2014 16 March 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140316090143/http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/News/Tennis/2014/Tournament/WTA-Thursday2-Li-Cibulkova-Stephens-Pennetta.aspx dead Facing 20th seed Flavia Pennetta in the semifinal, she was defeated in straight sets.Pennetta to Meet Radwanska for Title http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/News/Tennis/2014/Tournament/WTA-Friday2-Li-Na-Pennetta.aspx 16 March 2014 17 March 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140317015131/http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/News/Tennis/2014/Tournament/WTA-Friday2-Li-Na-Pennetta.aspx dead Miami Masters Li received a bye in the first round of Miami Masters. In the second round she was bound to face Alisa Kleybanova, however the Russian withdrew shortly prior to the match due to a viral illness. In her third round encounter with Madison Keys, she erased two set points in the first set before forcing a tiebreak, which she won. In the second set she won five consecutive games from 0–2 down and eventually took the match handily. She then had an easy win against the 15th seed Carla Suárez Navarro, setting up a quarterfinal with Caroline Wozniacki. After Li burst out to a 4–1 lead in the first set, Wozniacki won four games in a row to go up 5–4, before Li fired back with three games of her own to take the set. The Dane was up 5–3 in the second set before Li reeled off four consecutive games to advance. In the semifinal, she met Dominika Cibulková for the third time this year. Li blew two set points when serving for the first set on her first attempt at 5–3, but successfully closed it out on her second. From 2–all in the second set, Li lost 6 games in a row to lose the set and fall behind 0–2 in the decider, before upping her game to seize six of the last seven games to seal the win, securing a place in her maiden Premier Mandatory final, where she was defeated by world No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets despite having a set point in the first set. Clay court season Stuttgart Open Li withdrew from this year edition of Stuttgart Open before the tournament. Madrid Open Li started her clay season at the Madrid Open, where she lost to Madison Keys in the first round last year. She defeated Kirsten Flipkens and countrywoman Zheng Jie in the first two rounds without much trouble. In the third round match against Sloane Stephens, Li surrendered the first set but regained form to earn a place in the quarter-final. She was defeated by eventual champion Maria Sharapova in three sets, after winning the first set comfortably. Italian Open At the Italian Open where she was sent home by former world No.1 Jelena Janković last year, Li received a bye for first round and defeated Australian Casey Dellacqua in the second. She then defeated Sam Stosur for the first time after 6 encounters in her career. In the quarterfinals against Sara Errani, Li suffered her first loss to the home favourite. French Open The former champion suffered her earliest loss at the event to Kristina Mladenovic. She was the first Grand Slam champion to lose in the opening round of the following Grand Slam since Petra Kvitová did so at the 2011 US Open. Grass court season Wimbledon The only grass court event Li participated in this year was the Wimbledon Championships. She easily defeated Paula Kania and Yvonne Meusburger in the first two rounds. She then bowed out to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in two tiebreak sets. US Open Series Li withdrew from the 2014 Rogers Cup, 2014 Western & Southern Open and 2014 US Open this year due to a knee injury, at all of which she was a defending semifinalist. She surrendered her world No. 2 ranking to Simona Halep following the Rogers Cup.June 2026 After skipping the entire US Open Series due to a left knee injury, Li officially announced her retirement from the sport on 19 September 2014, also withdrawing from the tournaments in Wuhan (her hometown) and Beijing. She was ranked no.6 by the Women's Tennis Association at the time of her retirement.Li Na announces retirement, WTA official website, 19 September 2014https://www.si.com/tennis/2014/09/18/li-na-retirement-huge-loss-wta-and-tennis Li Na's retirement a huge loss to the WTA and tennishttps://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/19/sports/tennis/chinas-li-na-set-to-retire-from-tennis.html Li Na, Two-Time Major Winner, Is Retiring With Knee Woes The New York Times Ben Rothenberg 19 September 2014 19 September 2014 All matches Singles matches Tournament Match # Round Opponent Rank Result Score Shenzhen Open Shenzhen, ChinaWTA InternationalHard, outdoor30 December 2013 – 4 January 2014 1 1R RUS Vera Zvonareva N/A Win 7–5, 6–3 2 2R UKR Nadiia Kichenok #101 Win 6–1, 6–4 3 QF ROM Monica Niculescu #59 Win 7–5, 4–6, 6–4 4 SF GER Annika Beck #58Win 6–1, 6–3 5 F CHN Peng Shuai #42 Win (1) 6–4, 7–5 Australian Open Melbourne, AustraliaGrand SlamHard, outdoor13–26 January 2014 6 1R CRO Ana Konjuh #241 Win 6–2, 6–0 7 2R SWI Belinda Bencic #187 Win 6–0, 7–6(7–5) 8 3R CZE Lucie Šafářová #26 Win 1–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 9 4R RUS Ekaterina Makarova #22 Win 6–2, 6–0 10 QF ITA Flavia Pennetta #29 Win 6–2, 6–2 11 SF CAN Eugenie Bouchard #31 Win 6–2, 6–4 12 F SVK Dominika Cibulková #24 Win (2) 7–6(7–3), 6–0 Qatar Ladies OpenDoha, QatarWTA Premier 5Hard, outdoor10–16 February 2014 – 1R Bye 13 2R SVK Magdaléna Rybáriková #32 Win 6–1, 5–7, 6–214 3R CZE Petra Cetkovská #134 Loss 6–7(2–7), 6–2, 4–6 BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United StatesWTA Premier MandatoryHard, outdoor3–16 March 2014 – 1R Bye 15 2R CHN Zheng Jie #58 Win 6–1, 7–5 16 3R CZE Karolína Plíšková #67 Win 6–3, 6–4 17 4R CAN Aleksandra Wozniak #241 Win 6–1, 6–4 18 QF SVK Dominika Cibulková #11 Win 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 19 SF ITA Flavia Pennetta #21 Loss 6–7(5–7), 3–6 Sony Open Tennis Miami, United StatesWTA Premier MandatoryHard, outdoor17–30 March 2014 – 1R Bye – 2R RUS Alisa Kleybanova #112 Walkover N/A 20 3R USA Madison Keys #38 Win 7–6(7–3), 6–3 21 4R ESP Carla Suárez Navarro #17 Win 6–0, 6–2 22 QF DEN Caroline Wozniacki #18 Win 7–5, 7–5 23 SF SVK Dominika Cibulková #11 Win 7–5, 2–6, 6–3 24 F USA Serena Williams #1 Loss 5–7, 1–6 Porsche Tennis Grand PrixStuttgart, GermanyWTA PremierClay, indoor21–27 April 2014 Withdrew Mutua Madrid OpenMadrid, SpainWTA Premier MandatoryClay, outdoor3–11 May 2014 25 1R BEL Kirsten Flipkens #23 Win 6–1, 7–6(9–7) 26 2R CHN Zheng Jie #60 Win 6–2, 6–3 27 3R USA Sloane Stephens #17 Win 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 28 QF RUS Maria Sharapova #9 Loss 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 Internazionali BNL d'ItaliaRome, ItalyWTA Premier 5Clay, outdoor12–18 May 2014 – 1R Bye 29 2R AUS Casey Dellacqua #53 Win 6–1, 6–4 30 3R AUS Samantha Stosur #18 Win 6–3, 6–1 31 QF ITA Sara Errani #11 Loss 3–6, 6–4, 2–6 French Open Paris, FranceGrand SlamClay, outdoor25 May – 8 June 2014 32 1R FRA Kristina Mladenovic #104 Loss 5–7, 6–3, 1–6 Wimbledon London, United KingdomGrand SlamGrass, outdoor23 June – 7 July 2014 33 1R POL Paula Kania #175 Win 7–5, 6–2 34 2R AUT Yvonne Meusburger #38 Win 6–2, 6–2 35 3R CZE Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová #43 Loss 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7) Tournament Schedule Singles schedule Li's 2014 singles tournament schedule is as follows: DateChampionshipLocationCategorySurfacePrev. resultPrev. pointsNew pointsOutcome 30 December 2013–4 January 2014 Shenzhen Open Shenzhen (CHN) WTA International Hard W 280 280 Winner defeated Peng Shuai, 6–4, 7–5 13 January 2014–26 January 2014 Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam Hard F 1400 2000 Winner defeated Dominika Cibulková, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 10 February 2014–16 February 2014 Qatar Total Open Doha (QAT) WTA Premier 5 Hard DNP 0 105 Third round lost to Petra Cetkovská, 6–7(2–7), 6–2, 4–6 3 March 2014–16 March 2014 BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells (USA) WTA Premier Mandatory Hard DNP 0 390 Semifinals lost to Flavia Pennetta, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 17 March 2014–30 March 2014 Sony Open Tennis Miami (USA) WTA Premier Mandatory Hard QF 250 650 Finallost to Serena Williams, 5–7, 1–6 21 April 2014–27 April 2014 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart (GER) WTA Premier Clay (i) F 320 0 Withdrew 3 May 2014–11 May 2014 Mutua Madrid Open Madrid (ESP) WTA Premier Mandatory Clay 1R 5 215 Quarterfinals lost to Maria Sharapova, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 12 May 2014–18 May 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome (ITA) WTA Premier 5 Clay 3R 125 190 Quarterfinals lost to Sara Errani, 3–6, 6–4, 2–6 25 May 2014–8 June 2014 French Open Paris (FRA) Grand Slam Clay 2R 100 10 First round lost to Kristina Mladenovic, 5–7, 6–3, 1–6 16 June 2014–21 June 2014 Aegon International Eastbourne (GBR) WTA Premier Grass QF 120 0 Did Not Participate 23 June 2014–6 July 2014 Wimbledon London (GBR) Grand Slam Grass QF 500 130 Third round lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7)Total year-end points Yearly records Head-to-head matchups Bold indicates that the player was in the Top 10, italics denotes that the player was in the Top 20 (at the time of the match being played). This list is ordered by number of wins to number of losses in chronological order played. 22em SVK Dominika Cibulková 3–0 CHN Zheng Jie 2–0 RUS Vera Zvonareva 1–0 UKR Nadiia Kichenok 1–0 ROM Monica Niculescu 1–0 GER Annika Beck 1–0 CHN Peng Shuai 1–0 CRO Ana Konjuh 1–0 SWI Belinda Bencic 1–0 CZE Lucie Šafářová 1–0 RUS Ekaterina Makarova 1–0 CAN Eugenie Bouchard 1–0 SVK Magdaléna Rybáriková 1–0 CZE Karolína Plíšková 1–0 CAN Aleksandra Wozniak 1–0 USA Madison Keys 1–0 ESP Carla Suárez Navarro 1–0 DEN Caroline Wozniacki 1–0 BEL Kirsten Flipkens 1–0 USA Sloane Stephens 1–0 AUS Casey Dellacqua 1–0 AUS Samantha Stosur 1–0 POL Paula Kania 1–0 AUT Yvonne Meusburger 1–0 ITA Flavia Pennetta 1–1 CZE Petra Cetkovská 0–1 USA Serena Williams 0–1 RUS Maria Sharapova 0–1 ITA Sara Errani 0–1 FRA Kristina Mladenovic 0–1 CZE Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 0–1 Finals Singles: 3 (2–1) LegendGrand Slams (1–0)WTA Tour Championships (0–0)WTA Premier Mandatory (0–1)WTA Premier 5 (0–0)WTA Premier (0–0)WTA International (1–0)Finals by surfaceHard (2–1)Clay (0–0)Finals by venueOutdoors (2–1)Indoors (0–0) OutcomeNo.DateChampionshipSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore in the finalWinner8.2014-01-04Shenzhen Open, ChinaHardCHN Peng Shuai6–4, 7–5Winner9.25 January 2014Australian Open, AustraliaHardSVK Dominika Cibulková7–6(7–3), 6–0Runner-up12.29 March 2014Sony Open Tennis, United StatesHardUSA Serena Williams5–7, 1–6 Earnings # Event Prize money Year-to-date 1 Shenzhen Open $111,163 $111,163 2 Australian Open $2,349,322 $2,460,485 3 Qatar Total Open $25,135 $2,485,620 4 BNP Paribas Open $225,000 $2,710,620 5 Sony Open Tennis $384,065 $3,094,685 6 Mutua Madrid Open $117,719 $3,212,404 7 Internazionali BNL d'Italia $55,180 $3,267,584 8 French Open $31,634 $3,299,218 9 Wimbledon $110,667 $3,409,885 $3,409,885 Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted. See also 2014 Maria Sharapova tennis season 2014 Victoria Azarenka tennis season 2014 Serena Williams tennis season 2014 WTA Tour References Li Li Category:Li Na tennis seasons Li Na season