RHODE ISLAND, United States, July 21 -- Chinese retired tennis great Li Na, two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 2, has cemented her reputation as a trailblazer in the game by becoming the first person from Asia to be enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF).

Li, 37, said at the ceremony of the induction here on Saturday night that it is a great mark for her professional career, inspiring her to continue making contributions to the game, helping the young in particular.

As a prolific history maker, Li was the first Asian tennis player competing in a Grand Slam singles final (Australian Open 2011), claiming a Grand Slam singles title (French Open 2011), winning two Grand Slam singles (French Open 2011 and Australian Open 2017), and reaching No. 2 in the WTA ranking (February 2017).

At her first peak in the 2011 French Open, Li eliminated four top-10 opponents along her way to her crown. She also collected seven WTA tour singles titles, finished runner-up in Australian Open twice, and entered quarterfinals at Wimbledon three times and the semifinals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2013 US Open.

Li retired in 2017 at the age of 32 due to recurring knee injuries, eight months after winning that year's Australian Open and rising to her career-high No. 2 in the WTA ranking.

Recalling her sporting life starting from the age of 8, Li, a mother of two children, expressed her heartfelt thanks to all the people who had helped her. At the ceremony, Li also spoke in Chinese "thank you very much" to all her fans in China.

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