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(CNN)<\/cite>Chinese tennis player Li Na’s mother is expecting a baby.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To hear more from Li Na, watch and read Open Court on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (CNN)Chinese tennis player Li Na’s mother is expecting a baby. The two-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from tennis in 2014, decided to break the news of her pregnancy at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Stadium. “Me and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nTo hear more from Li Na, watch and read Open Court on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays<\/q><\/p>\n
The two-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from tennis in 2014, decided to break the news of her pregnancy at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Stadium.<\/p>\n“Me and Dennis, we’re so excited,” 32-year-old Li said in reference to her husband at an on-court ceremony at the tournament in Melbourne, where she won her second Grand Slam in 2014.<\/p>\n“I think Dennis is doing a good job,” she added, before joking, “He just made an ace.”<\/p>\nOften the butt of Li’s sense of humor, her husband was in the stands as China’s pioneering tennis player revealed the imminent arrival of the couple’s first child this summer. <\/p>\nAfter retiring in September 2014 due to chronic knee problems, the tennis star has made having a family a priority, and CNN’s Pat Cash said in an interview on Sunday that “family is the most important thing to me.”<\/p>\nLi triumphed at both the French (2011) and Australian Open (2014) and became the highest-ranked Asian player the world has ever seen, reaching second place in the world.<\/p>\nShe later took to Facebook to share more about her excitement at the prospect of becoming a mother.<\/p>\n\u201cDennis and I are expecting our first child this summer. We are over the moon!\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n“I felt great and Dennis and I have taken some trips and enjoyed this special time in our lives. We can’t wait to become parents and start this new chapter together.\u201d<\/p>\nReferring to the Melbourne crowd, she added: “It really feels like this baby is about to be born and already has like 15,000 friends.”<\/p>\nNot just 15,000 friends – there are also China’s 1.3 billion people, after Li’s sporting success made her a household name in her native country.<\/p>\nIt is estimated that over 100 million Chinese watched live TV coverage of their 2011 French Open victory, reportedly the largest TV audience for any single sporting event in China.<\/p>\nBack at the Australian Open, all eyes were on Li after she decided to announce her news at the Melbourne event.<\/p>\n“I’m looking forward to spending a few more days in Australia and wish all the players and the tournament the best of luck! I can’t wait to be back!” she added on Facebook.<\/p>\nRead: Australian Open: Rafael Nadal wins in comeback but Ana Ivanovic crashes out<\/p>\nRead: Australian Open: Seven stories to follow<\/p>\n