It is the second time Li Na was nominated for the award in Laureus, an Oscar-like ceremony after she became a candidate in 2012.
While there is no official confirmation of Li Na's pending retirement, the Chinese tennis ace received an overwhelming number of good wishes from fans across the Internet - around 13 million.
China's two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na will announce retirement on Friday, a member of her agent team said on Thursday.
Unconfirmed Chinese media speculation about 32-year-old tennis star’s decision to retire has drawn nearly 12 million views in just a few hours.
Peng Shuai joins two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na and doubles star Zheng Jie as the only Chinese players to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
Peng Shuai shot a group of fashion photos and wrote about tennis and her life for the Chinese version of one of the European and American best-selling fashion magazines for women's sports and health.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na's agent Max Eisenbud denied rumors that the Chinese star would retire during the upcoming Asian season.
China's Peng Shuai is through to the semifinals of this year's US Open women's singles draw after besting Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 6-2, 6-1, in the tournament's first quarterfinal match on Tuesday afternoon.
Peng Shuai admits she feels the huge burden of Chinese expectations in the absence of superstar Li Na after stunning Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska at the US Open on Wednesday.
Heading into the US Open, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have won 36 of the past 38 Grand Slam titles, a stretch dating to the 2005 French Open.
Li Na and her husband Jiangshan attend the unveiling ceremony of Nike's new Great China headquaters in Shanghai,in which is a brand new building bearing the name of Li Na.
Serena Williams and Li Na will headline a star-studded field at the inaugural WTA Wuhan Open in September, organizers said on Thursday.