Drastic coaching shakeup pays off for Li’s marriage
TORONTO — When Li Na decided a year ago to change coaches, she made the move with the intention of improving her career. But in the process she might have saved her marriage.
At the time, Li was ranked 11th in the world and was coming off a first-round loss in the Olympics. Searching for the type of consistency that resulted in her winning the 2011 French Open, the 31-year-old from China realized something needed to change if she was going to take the next step and become a top-five player.
And so, in a move that was drastic but necessary, she dumped her longtime coach — husband Jiang Shan — and hired Carlos Rodriguez.
As a result, Li has not only propelled to fifth in the world rankings this year, but has also managed to keep her sanity.
Rodriguez, who previously worked with former world No. 1 Justine Henin, has given her a different perspective about the game and allowed Li and Jiang to have more of a normal relationship.
In her first tournament with Rodriguez, Li reached the Montreal final at last year’s Rogers Cup and followed with a win in Cincinnati.
She started this year with a win in her native China, lost in the Australian Open final and reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
While Li is still searching for her second Grand Slam, she is pleased with her progress.
A day after defeating Ana Ivanovic, Li hit 33 winners in a 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory over the 20th-ranked Cibulkova. She now faces Sorana Cirstea in Saturday’s semifinals.