Tokyo: Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis said Friday Li Na’s retirement was a loss to world tennis, crediting the Chinese star with raising the game’s profile in her home country.

“It’s a sad day for Chinese tennis and for the global sport in general,” Hingis, who won the five singles and nine doubles Grand Slam titles, said in Tokyo after hearing about Li’s decision during the WTA Pan Pacific Open.

“I have good memories playing her,” said the 33-year-old. Hingis beat Li in the 2007 Australian Open fourth round.

Hingis said it was “sad” because the next WTA tournament was to be played in Li’s hometown of Wuhan next week, immediately followed by the big-money China Open in Beijing.

“There is so much more tennis which has moved tournaments to China, [there has been] development on the women’s side of the tour to have the tournaments there,” she added.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori also expressed shocked over Li’s injury-forced retirement on Friday but added that he hopes to become the new leader of tennis in Asia.

The US Open finalist, now Asia’s top-ranked player at eighth, was speaking after 32-year-old Li quit over knee problems, just months after winning the Australian Open.

“It is a shock for me and for everybody but she’s done amazing things for Asian tennis,” Nishikori said during an ATP media visit to Hong Kong.

Li became the first Asian national to win a Grand Slam singles title at the 2011 French Open, and then claimed her second major trophy at the Australian Open in January.

China now hosts six women’s Tour events. The Women’s Tennis Association upgraded the China Open in Beijing last year to become Asia’s only event combined with a men’s Tour. The event is also one of the WTA’s top four tournaments.

The Wuhan Open is making its debut this year by replacing the Pan Pacific Open on the WTA’s second tier known as Premier 5. The Tokyo event now belongs to the so-called Premier-700 calendar.

Hingis made her second comeback from retirement in July last year but just as a doubles player. In the US Open doubles final two weeks ago, she teamed with Italian Flavia Pennetta and finished runners-up to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.