体坛英语新闻： Li Na: I am not going back to play competitive tennis

China's former tennis player Li Na attends the press conference for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Singapore's Art Science Museum on Oct. 19, 2014. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)

SINGAPORE, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese retired tennis star Li Na said on Sunday that she will not return to play competitive tennis again though she misses her friends.

Li, an official ambassador for the WTA World Tour Finals, made the remarks when she attended a press conference in Singapore along with the eight players who will be competing for the year-ending tournament from October 17 to 26.

"I'm already 32," said Li. "I think I have to take care of my family right now, because over the last 32 years I was trying as hard as I can on tennis court."

The hot-tempered Li stressed that she is "not going to come back to tennis".

Talking about her life after retirement, Li said she feels "pretty nice" about having no schedule, adding that the biggest surprise she had during the last month was the Golden Week, a seven-day holiday in celebration of the National Day.

"I stayed home for the National Day holiday," Li smiled. "I don't have to work or see my schedule."

But Li's schedule in Singapore are packed with multiple activities. She will meet with fans at the WTA Fan Fest and also participants of the Under-14 and Under-16 Future Stars event, which features players from 12 countries and regions across Asia Pacific.

Li will also be at the opening ceremony of the main tournament on Monday.

The draw made on Saturday picked the top two seeds Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the headliners in the Red Group and White Group, respectively. Williams will face Simona Halep of Romania and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada along with former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, while Sharapova's opponents will be in-form Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

Another highlight will be the top pairing of Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei, who will seek to defend their doubles title here, after announcing they would split after losing in the last 16 of the US Open.