Former tennis star Li Na found herself trending on social media after reports said she had given up her Chinese nationality. The two-time grand slam winner was said to be the Li Na who had applied to change their nationality in Busan, South Korea, with the topic of “Li Na’s resignation of Chinese nationality” blowing up on Weibo. An image of a consular certificate showing Li Na applying to change her nationality to South Korean, dated December 24, was uploaded to Weibo on Monday. Reports that this was the first Asian tennis grand slam winner were swiftly denied by both the Sina Tennis account and the Chinese consulate in Busan. “The source of this picture is not clear, but I see that many people maliciously take the rhythm and maliciously speculate. Let’s create this topic. There is more than one Li Na in China,” wrote Sina Tennis. “After verifying with Li Na’s team, Li Na and her passport number in the picture were not the Li Na who played tennis as guessed by many netizens, so we clarify.” Li Na’s French Open win opened the door for Chinese and Asian tennis Sina Tennis also posted a hashtag: “grand slam victor Li Na did not change the country” in contrast to the previous search term. The consulate in Busan was even firmer in its statement on Weibo. “After investigation, the applicant’s name on the ID card is the same as that of a well-known athlete, and they have been married and settled in South Korea for many years. “The Chinese consulate in Busan contacted the applicant to verify that the consulate certified that the picture was uploaded to Weibo for speculation after being stolen. “The Chinese consulate in Busan condemned the illegal misappropriation of personal legal documents by people with ulterior motives and the spread of fake news on the internet, and solemnly reminded Chinese citizens of the consular district to protect personal legal documents to prevent possible risks from the leakage of private information.” Wuhan native Li, who has no official Weibo account, has not made a statement. Li, 38, was an iconoclastic figure in Chinese tennis, breaking away from the state system to take a larger share of her prize money. She became the first Chinese player and first Asian to win a grand slam singles event when she won the French Open in 2011. Li, who also won the Australian Open in 2014, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019. The topic remains a hot search on Weibo.
