Just 17 months ago, all eyes were on Li Na, holding a trophy aloft at Rod Laver Arena after defeating Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open final. It was her second Grand Slam title and the only ever won by a Chinese player.
This week, Li Na, and her husband Dennis, are celebrating an even better prize: the birth of their first child, a girl named Alisa, who was born Wednesday at 2:25 a.m. local time, weighing in at just under seven pounds.
Welcome to the world, baby Alisa! #LiNa #LiNaBaby pic.twitter.com/qnJZrIy6GG
— IMG Tennis (@IMGTennis) June 2, 2015
Li announced her pregnancy during a return to Melbourne at this year’s Australian Open, later writing on Facebook that the announcement in front of the fans at the tournament was because “I was no longer alone out there fighting my opponent (and sometimes myself); today it felt like I was in the company of my 15,000 friends. And it really feels like this baby is going to enter the world already having about 15,000 friends.”
Though not entirely surprising given previous comments about wanting to start a family, Li’s retirement in September was still a bit of a surprise. But her post-tennis goal didn’t take long.
In 2008, Kim Clijsters also had a child just about a year after retiring from women’s tennis. She famously returned to the sport and was better than before, winning three Grand Slams post-baby after winning just one before. But Clijsters was 25 years old when she made her comeback. Li is 33 now, so don’t expect a similar return, which is okay, because leaving such a cute face would have to be even more difficult than winning two Grand Slams.
