Retired tennis star Li Na receives the award of Best Female Athletes of the Year at the annual CCTV Sports Awards in Beijing, on Feb 1, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

The annual CCTV Sports Awards, recognized as the Chinese version of the Laureus World Sports Awards, is taken as the premier honors on the Chinese sporting calendar.

Li claimed both the Best Female Athlete of the Year and the Sports Special Contribution, for serving as a great milestone for the development of Chinese tennis.

Li Na won her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier in 2014 and ranked world No 2, the highest ranking that an Asian player, male or female, has ever achieved, but she retired from tennis at the age of 32, citing injuries as reasons to force her out.