( CNN ) -- China 's Li Na hit the heights earlier this year when she made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open , beating Venus Williams along the way . `` I was so excited after I beat Venus [ Williams ] , because I knew this was a special day ... and for Chinese tennis because they had two players in the semi-final . I mean , that 's not easy for Asian countries , '' she told CNN . Li and her compatriot Jie Zheng , who also reached the Australian Open semifinals this year , have given the profile of Chinese tennis a boost . But Li , China 's first tennis player to break into the top 10 world rankings , actually quit the game at the end of 2002 . `` I was feeling really sick , everyday . I never stopped . I did n't want to kill my body . I mean , I have a long life , I do n't want it to be only for tennis , '' she said . She was first brought back to the game by a call to play in the Chinese national championships and then returned to the Tour in 2004 . `` When I was young [ the Chinese tennis authorities ] paid a lot of money for me to play in tournaments and do everything for me , so if now they need help I have to give back to them , '' she said . `` The plan was to finish university by 2005 and then finally get some sort of job for life . But after 2005 my ranking was 33 in the world and I thought 'Oh my God , what is going on ? I have to continue to play . '' ' Compared to the more demure Zheng Jie , she 's been portrayed as a rebel , sporting a tattoo and once telling Chinese fans to shut up during her semifinal match against Dinara Safina in the Beijing Olympics . `` They kept yelling , 'Kill her ! ' with every shot ... I mean the fans are not bad , I know they just really wanted me to win the match . But maybe next time I will have more experience . I will just keep asking them to be quiet please ! '' She also made the decision to leave China 's state tennis system after the Beijing Olympic Games . Until then she had to give 65 percent of her winnings to the Chinese government . Today , operating outside of the state system , Li still has to give 12 percent of the winning to the government . `` The Chinese way is different from the Western way , because our government gives you a lot of help and just asks back a little bit ... if someone helps you and you never give back , I 'd think they did n't want to be friends with me , '' she explained . Li is hopeful that other Chinese players will follow in her footsteps , although it may be a long wait for a Chinese man to emulate her Grand Slam tournament performances . `` I believe that in five year for sure , there will be a Chinese guy coming into the Top 50 . They are working so hard . In winter training I was with the national team , so I saw a lot of good players among juniors -- young girls and boys . So I was feeling 'Yeah , after three years maybe China will be like Russia or America ' -- they have many people coming to play in tournaments , '' she said .
Li Na is China 's first top 10 tennis player , often portrayed as a rebel . Highest ranking of 9th came after reaching quarterfinals of Australian Open . Quit tennis at end of 2002 , but returned in 2004 and has stayed up ever since .