The player has been allowed to appoint her husband, Jiang Shan, as coach

BEIJING: China’s national tennis federation has admitted bending its own rules banning romantic relationships in an effort to ease pressure on Li Na, a top medal hope for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Sport and romance are kept at arms length by China’s state-funded sports administration, which demands that competitors focus exclusively on their sport. National team members have been dismissed in the past for romantic involvements with fellow team members.

However, an exception has been made for Li, 24, the world number 16 who has been allowed to appoint her husband, Jiang Shan, as coach.

Shan achieved little of note as a player and has no coaching experience at all.
Sun Jinfang, head of the federation, said she had agreed to the move in order to ease the pressure on Li ahead of the 2008 Games. “I simply wanted her to feel better on the intense WTA Tour, so we did something hardly seen before in China’s sports history,” Sun said.