Li Na: soft power weapon and a sponsor's dream
- By Mark Dreyer
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 29, 2014
Last week, Chinese tennis star Li Na first won the Australian Open and then the hearts of millions watching around the world by delivering what many have referred to as "the best winner's speech in history."
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Li Na of China holds the trophy after winning her women's singles final match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 25, 2014. Li Na won 2-0 to claim the title of the event. [Xinhua/Li Jundong] |
![Li Na of China holds the trophy after winning her women's singles final match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 25, 2014. Li Na won 2-0 to claim the title of the event. [Xinhua/Li Jundong]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20140128/001ec949c22b1451942316.jpg "Li Na of China holds the trophy after winning her women's singles final match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 25, 2014. Li Na won 2-0 to claim the title of the event. [Xinhua/Li Jundong]")
She was humble in her victory, praising her opponent, but the laughs soon followed after she thanked her agent for making her rich and praised her husband for following her around the world to make her drinks and fix her rackets. She added, with the comic timing of a stand-up veteran, that he was lucky to have found her.
She's been charming crowds (and teasing her husband) for years with her candid manner and playful English, but this was her biggest stage yet, with millions more watching her speech later when the video went viral online, especially after the hashtag "#funniestspeechever" began to trend on Twitter.
It's hard to think of the last time a Chinese was so well received on the world stage. Li may have brought China a temporary dose of national pride, but the soft power effects of her charm will have far longer-lasting effects.
As Clayton Dube, executive director of the USC US-China Institute, wrote, "Li Na is worth more to China's image than mega events like the Olympics. Everyone knows [China] can do big. Li Na shows how to be human."
It was an opinion that was echoed across the world. One would expect a country as patriotic as China to support their own in great numbers, but on Twitter -- only really accessible outside of China -- she topped the Australian Open's social media lead-board by being the most discussed female player on Twitter throughout the championship, and fourth in terms of positive sentiment.
It's a statistic that must be mouthwatering for Li's agent, Max Eisenbud of IMG. When she won the French Open in 2011, Eisenbud negotiated seven new 3-year contracts worth US$ 2 to 3.5 million each, in addition to those she had already signed following her first Australian Open final appearance earlier that year.
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