Li Na is often described as one of the most affable characters in tennis today, and her victory speech at the Australian Open confirmed those assessments.
“At tournaments, I’ve seen her charm the crowds,” the tennis legend Chris Evert later said. “When she smiles, everyone melts.”
But, it seems, her smiles are reserved only for centre courts, after grand slam victories. Returning home, she was wearing an ugly scowl as she received a cheque of worth Dh485,000 from Wang Guosheng, the governor of her home province Hubei, for her Australian success.
Her reaction sparked outrage in the Chinese local and social media.
“Wang Guosheng tried to use taxpayer money to buy a smile,” wrote one user of Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. “Alas, she didn’t give it to him.”
Xinhua, China’s official news agency, described the event as “embarrassing” and “money-worshipping”, while other posters on Weibo demanded “the government and the party should stop spending money as they wish”.
Li Na is certainly not in need of money – her Melbourne winner’s cheque was for A$2.65 million (Dh8.56m). Since her victory at the 2011 French Open, she reportedly has earned more than US$40m (Dh146.9m) in endorsements.
Athletes in individual sports represent themselves and not a country. Why should they receive public funds as bonuses? Especially someone like Li Na, who has made clear the she represents herself.
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