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In a list full of trailblazers, Li finds herself right at home as the first Chinese tennis player to… well, to have done a lot of things never done before. In 2014, she achieved her career-high ranking of No. The retired 36-year-old from China is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2011 French Open and the 2014 Australian Open. While Naomi Osaka was nothing short of a revelation in 2018, the Japanese phenom still has a bit of work to do before she officially upends Li Na as Asia’s biggest tennis star. Li NaĬountry: China Image via Facebook / Li Na On top of being a fantastic player, the pioneering outfielder is credited for opening the doors for more of his countrymen to enter the MLB, which currently sees five active Japanese players, including rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani. The longtime Mariner made his scintillating MLB debut at the age of 27 after killing it for nine years in Japan’s major leagues, promptly winning both AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in his rookie season. Ichiro SuzukiĬountry: Japan Image via Instagram / is a legend. He also holds the world record for the 1500m freestyle, and has been described by NBC Sports as “arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time.” 6. The 6-foot-7 freestyle specialist is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time world champion, leaving him trailing only Phelps and American Ryan Lochte for most world titles. He’s retired now, though, and we think China’s Sun Yang is right up there to take up that mantle of best swimmer in the world. Nevertheless, it’s managed to produce one of the most recognizable names in all of sports: Michael Phelps. Country: China Image via Instagram / is one of those quintessentially Olympic sports, one that people only really care about every four years.