Cao focusing on turning pro

Cao Siqi has outgrown her 'Little Li Na' sobriquet and set her sights on becoming as famous as her Grand Slam-winning idol.

After storming into the semifinals before injury forced her retirement from the WTA Future Stars tournament in Singapore, the 15-year-old is among the new generation of China's tennis hopefuls bidding to follow in the footsteps of Li after the former world No 2's surprise retirement last month.

Cao, who has competed in the Australian and US Open junior tournaments and won an International Tennis Federation junior championship title, is now focused on turning professional.