Li Na smiles broadly as she carries her country’s flag at the 2014 Australian Open. (Photo : Reuters)
Grand Slam singles champion and Wuhan native Li Na led the opening ceremonies of a brand-new stadium in her hometown in Hubei Province on Sept. 27.
Czech professional tennis player Petra Kvitova, a Grand Slam winner herself, joined the 33-year-old retired Li, reported SINA English.
The 15,000-seat stadium cost 1 billion yuan to build, according to Bloomberg. It features 25 corporate hospitality suites and a retractable roof.
The country now has a stadium large enough for mega events. Aside from hosting the Wuhan Open, it will also serve as a venue for football/soccer, basketball tournaments and concerts.
It has the same seating capacity as the AU$94-million Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, which hosts the Australian Open and was constructed from 1985-1987.
Court Philippe Chatrier, built in 1928, can accommodate some 14,800 people. It is the main venue of Stade Roland Garros (“Roland Garros Stadium”), a tennis venue complex in Paris, France, that hosts the French Open.
America’s $254-million Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, which opened in 1997, can still hold its head up high from the rest as it can seat some 23,700 people who want to witness the U.S. Open.
Both Li and Kvitova won the Grand Slam title twice.
Li experienced her first Grand Slam victory at the 2011 French Open, followed by another one at the 2014 Australian Open. The 25-year-old six-foot-tall Kvitova won her Grand Slam titles at the Wimbledon Championships in 2011 and 2014.
Li retired in 2014 and gave birth in June to a baby girl who was given the name Alisa, according to SuperSport.
Meanwhile, Swiss player Martina Hingis is in the country for the Wuhan Open. The 37-year-old visited the Yellow Crane Tower with no less than Li accompanying her and serving as her tour guide, reported Tennis World.
Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam singles winner, said that the visit was “pretty cool” and referred to Li as a “hometown hero.”
