Pierce, Li and Kafelnikov react to Hall of Fame nod

On Sunday, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2019 inductees as Mary Pierce, Li Na and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Pierce is a two-time Grand Slam singles champion and a two-time Fed Cup champion. Throughout her career, the Frenchwoman won 18 titles and rose as high as No. 3 in both singles and doubles.

Li is the most recently retired of the three inductees. The 36-year-old said goodbye to professional tennis in 2014, after winning the French Open and Australian Open and rising as high as No. 2.

These days the Chinese super star is busy shooting a biopic based on her life and career. At the Australian Open, she has teamed up with Kim Clijsters in the Legends Doubles event.

During his career, Kafelnikov made his mark in both doubles and singles. The 44-year-old Russian won the 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open titles, as well as three French Open doubles crowns and a US Open doubles trophy. He also won the 2000 Olympic gold medal in Sydney.

Earlier this week, members of the Class of 2019 were honored in a ceremony during the Australian Open.

In July when they get inducted, Pierce, Li and Kafelnikov will officially join a prestigious group of just over 250 inductees representing 23 countries.

Kick off each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day’s most important news and previewing the day’s biggest matches.

Follow the Australian Open all week long on Tennis Channel and TENNIS.com