IMG Worldwide announced Monday morning that it has signed Li Na as its newest tennis client.
Na is Asia and China’s No. 1 player and recently reached the quarterfinals at the US Open.
A native of Wuhan, Hubei, China, she started playing tennis when she was nine and in 1998 won the prestigious Asian Youth Cup. She began her professional career in 1999, and in 2006 became the first Chinese player to reach the Top 30 and then the Top 20. In the same year at Wimbledon, she became the first Chinese woman to reach a Grand Slam singles quarter final. She attained her highest world ranking of No. 16 in 2007.
“We are very pleased to have Li Na as an IMG client,” said Max Eisenbud, IMG senior vice president who will manage Li Na.
“She has been one of the most successful players in China’s history and in 2009 became Asia and China’s No. 1 player with a world ranking of No. 18. She has been largely hailed as being instrumental in advancing the sport within China.”
IMG is the leading client management company in tennis and the company’s roster of top tennis clients includes many of today’s superstars: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and James Blake.
In addition, IMG owns, manages or represents many of the world’s leading tournaments including Sony Ericsson Open, Australian Open, Chennai Open and Wimbledon, among many others.
[...] has been largely hailed as being instrumental in advancing the sport within China." (source: On the Baseline, photo via Sony Ericsson WTA [...]