Chinese rise

Li has inspired a new generation of Chinese tennis players and the sport is growing by leaps and bounds in her homeland, with tournaments and facilities mushrooming.

"It's very good for the players and very good for the fans," said Li, who is an ambassador for her hometown Wuhan Open, in Hubei province.

"For the players, you don't need to have long traveling, you can just stay in the country, you can play big tournaments and come face to face with the top players."

China's Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu and Zheng Qinwen reached the last 16 of the girls' singles on Tuesday, and Li has been impressed by what she's seen of the trio so far.

"I saw the Chinese juniors play over these last couple of days, the way they hit the ball so fast. I'm not strong like them!" she said.