Li Na of China
Tennis player Li Na of China cries during a retirement ceremony at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing September 30, 2014. Li, Asia's only grand slam singles champion, announced her retirement from tennis earlier this month, succumbing to the effect of long-term knee injuries. Reuters

Two-time grand slam champion Li Na has returned to Melbourne for the first time since holding the championship trophy last year and made a special announcement in front of the crowd ahead of Roger Federer's first round match. The reigning Australian Open champion, but retired, has announced that she and her husband Jiang Shian (Dennis) were expecting.

"Me and Dennis, we are so excited, our first child will be out this summer," Li got a little teary-eyed as she spoke in front of 15,000 fans at the Rod Laver Arena, her voice was shaking. "I think Dennis is doing a good job, he just made one ace."

Shortly after Li made her public announcement, she also posted a heartfelt message on Facebook. According to Li, she felt it was proper to make the big revelation of the secret that she has been holding on to for months at the Australian Open because the Aussie fans have always been very supportive of her and have been a great factor in her success. Li, however, did not exactly revealed the length of her pregnancy or how long she has been pregnant. She also didn't say if they were expecing a boy or a girl. What is certain is that they will be proud parents by summer.

Since her retirement, Li has kept herself busy by traveling with her husband and simply taking pleasure of each other's company. The overwhelming pressure to manage pregnancy isn't worrying Li. She said she has been feeling great. Li is looking forward to spending more time in Australia.

Li is the most successful tennis player from Asia that the sport has ever seen. During her professional tennis career, Li has won a total of nine titles including two grand slam titles that she won at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. She achieved his career-high singles rank in February 2014 as World No. 2, a month after winning the grand slam of the Asia Pacific.

Li was a runner-up at the US Open and season-ending WTA Finals in 2013. She was also a three-time participant in the Wimbledon quarter-final contests (2006, 2010, and 2013). In September 2014, Li announced that she was retiring from tennis due to her chronic knee problems.

To contact the author of this article, email r.corpuz@IBTimes.com.au.

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