Li Na:

At the start of the decade in 2011, China’s Li Na won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros over Italian Francesca Schiavone. The victory was a momentous occasion for Li Na in her professional tennis career, as she also became Asia’s first-ever Roland Garros Grand Slam singles winner.

The match was a major TV sporting event with 330 million viewers watching it globally. Then in January 2014, Li Na claimed her second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open over Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova. The grand slam win made her the first-ever Asian singles champion of the Australian Open.  

Petra Kvitova:

Czech Kvitova has claimed the Wimbledon singles title twice and also won the WTA Finals in 2011. Kvitova was shaken after a terrifying home invasion in 2016 that she survived and she suffered severe injuries, especially to her left playing hand.

In 2019, Kvitova made it through to the Australian Open but lost to Osaka. Even though Kvitova was runner up, this moment will go down as one of the best in the decade as it was an emotional and heartfelt performance by the Czech to make a grand slam after she survived a terrible home invasion two years prior.

It is a testament and credit to the true fighter and tough tennis player Kvitova is.