Tennis
Li Na reaches tour finale
2011-10-06 11:28
Beijing - China's French Open champion Li Na has capped the best season of her career by qualifying for the year-end WTA Championships in Turkey.
Li becomes the fifth singles player to qualify for the tournament in Istanbul from October 25 to 30, joining world number one Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka.
The WTA finale features the top eight singles players and the top four doubles teams over the course of the season.
Li made history in June by becoming the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros after earlier reaching the final at the Australian Open, where she lost to Kim Clijsters.
Currently ranked number six in the world, the 29-year-old reached a career-high of number four in June.
"This year has been the most successful of my career so far and I'm very happy to have qualified," Li said.
"I'm proud to be the first Chinese woman to qualify in singles for this event and I look forward to some tough matches against the best players of the season."