Tennis History Makers

Li Na (WANG LILI)	Zheng Jie (WANG LILI)

Li Na has become the first player from China ever to enter the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) top 10 rankings. The 27-year-old, who lost to top seed Serena Williams in the Australian Open semifinal on January 28, stepped up seven places to reach a career-high No.10 when the WTA official website released its new rankings after the tournament.

Zheng Jie, the first Chinese to make the semifinal in the Australian Open this year but was eliminated by Belgian Justine Henin, was upgraded 15 places to rank 20th.

Li and Zheng made history to become the first two Chinese players to reach the top four of a Grand Slam tournament simultaneously.

Li has been the most successful player in Chinese tennis history. She was the first Chinese woman to rank in the world's top 30 (in 2006) and the top 20 (in 2007). In October 2009, she became the highest-ranked Asian and Chinese player, with a world ranking of No.15.

Zheng, 26, became a professional tennis player in 2003. She was the first Chinese to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam, at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. Zheng achieved her career-high singles ranking of No.15 in May 2009. In addition to three WTA singles titles, Zheng, together with Yan Zi, won 11 WTA doubles titles including Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006 and an Olympic doubles bronze medal in 2008.

Big-Screen Star

(TAO MING)

Zhou Xun, one of China's leading actresses, recently appeared on CNN's Talk Asia. Though Zhou, according to CNN, is "little known outside of China," her influence in the Chinese cinema world is unquestionable.

In addition to every prestigious film award on the Chinese mainland, the actress of 18 years, who CNN called was self-effacing, has also won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress in 2006 for Perhaps Love and the Asian Film Award for Best Actress in 2009 for The Equation of Love and Death. Last December, the 35-year-old was honored as "Star of the Year" by CineAsia, a major award from the cinema exhibition and distribution community of the Pan-Asia region.

A 2009 survey found that Zhou had overtaken Zhang Ziyi as the most-preferred Chinese mainland entertainer for advertisers.

The UN Development Program appointed Zhou as its first Chinese goodwill ambassador in 2008 for her active role in promoting environmental protection.