But her coach told her parents to let her take up tennis instead.

And the native of Hubei City has never looked back since, blossoming into the most successful tennis player the country has produced so far.

“The coach said I was playing badminton more like a tennis player and suggested the change. It was not a bad idea,” said Li Na, who is the first Chinese player to break into the top 10 of the world rankings.

Now the Asian No. 1 has set her sights on scaling greater heights.

Li Na aspires to reach the top spot in the world rankings and lifting a third WTA Tour title in the Malaysian Open women’s tennis tournament this week will certainly help speed up her cause.

The second seeded Li Na, who will be celebrating her 28th birthday on Friday, will be in action today when she takes on Germany’s Tatjana Malek.

“Every player wants to be No. 1 in the world and it is also my goal. I have to work harder and be more aggressive on court,” she said.

“I also need to believe more in myself now that I have reached the top 10 in the world.”

Li Na and compatriot Zheng Jie made history at last month’s Australian Open when they became the first two Chinese players to reach the top four of a Grand Slam tournament.

Li Na, who was seeded 16th, defeated world No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki and world No. 6 Venus Williams before losing to eventual winner Serena Williams in the semi-finals.

Her previous best Grand Slam performance was a quarter-final berth at both the 2009 US Open and 2006 Wimbledon.

The spunky lass practised on the outdoor Centre Court at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort on Sunday for the first time and she was satisfied with the conditions.

“It’s not bad but there were delays because of rain,” said Li Na.

“I’m excited at the thought of playing in Kuala Lumpur again. I played my first tournament outside China in KL in a junior tournament about 14 years ago.”