Playing Style
Li is regarded as an offensive baseliner whose game is primarily characterised by her groundstrokes, which are both deep and powerful off both wings. Her forehand, although at times erratic, is her main weapon, particularly her cross court forehand, which she hits with great accuracy and pace. Although not as powerful, her backhand is usually more consistent and reliable. Having played doubles for many years, she is comfortable when playing at the net and possesses a strong net game, occasionally coming up to the net to finish off points and long rallies. Known for her athleticism and speed around the court, she hits well on the run, and is capable of constructing winning plays from defensive positions, allowing her to turn defensive play into offensive play.
One of Li's biggest weaknesses is her inconsistency, as shown by her results. She has a tendency to lose concentration and hit a high number of unforced errors at any stage of a match, often on crucial points, preventing her from clinching victory in many close matches. She also lacks variety in her game, as her shots are usually hit hard and very flat and rarely with topspin or slice.
Read more about this topic: Li Na (tennis)
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or style:
“We are playing with fire when we skip the years of three, four, and five to hurry children into being age six.... Every child has a right to his fifth year of life, his fourth year, his third year. He has a right to live each year with joy and self-fulfillment. No one should ever claim the power to make a child mortgage his today for the sake of tomorrow.”
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)
“Everything ponderous, viscous, and solemnly clumsy, all long- winded and boring types of style are developed in profuse variety among Germans—forgive me the fact that even Goethe’s prose, in its mixture of stiffness and elegance, is no exception, being a reflection of the “good old time” to which it belongs, and a reflection of German taste at a time when there still was a “German taste”Ma rococo taste in moribus et artibus.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)