2. Li rises to No.3 in WTA rankings

Li Na, the history-making Chinese No.1 tennis player, continued to make history in 2013, both for China and Asia.

In October, the 2011 French Open winner reached No.3 in the WTA ­rankings, a record high for any ­female Asian player.

In September, she became the first Chinese player to qualify for the semifinals of the US Open, but lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in straight sets after defending six match points.

Later in the tour's flagship season-ending tournament, the 2013 WTA Tour Championships, Li won all three of her round-robin matches against Sara Errani, Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka. After a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova, the former Wimbledon champion, Li qualified for the final of the event for the first time, but lost, again, to Williams.

There were also some other achievements in Chinese tennis in 2013. Peng Shuai, the second-ranked Chinese player, won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in July along with Chinese Taipei's Hsieh ­Su-wei.

There were also breakthroughs by male players. Wu Di became the first male Chinese player to compete in a Grand Slam, but was ousted in the first round of the Australian Open in January.