Yao, who has kept his love life closely guarded from the media, will
marry Ye Li in a private family ceremony possibly in Shanghai, the eastern
metropolis where they were born, met and began dating, the Titan Sports
Weekly said.
"This is a match based on pure love," the paper said.
The 2.26 metre centre first met Ye in 1999 when he was playing for the
Shanghai Sharks men's team and the 1.9 metre Ye was with the club's
women's team.
Ye has since gone on to play for the national side, but has been
plagued with injuries in recent years.
The two were seen walking hand-in-hand at the closing ceremony of the
2004 Athens Olympics, when their courtship first became public.
According to Titan Sports, Ye, 25, has been a regular at Yao's home in
Texas. She has also studied English at the University of Houston.
Yao, 27, is expected to return to China in July to train and will play
matches with the national team in September.
The paper played
down widespread rumors on the Internet and in the
Chinese media that Yao's wedding would be broadcast live on television,
with China's Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang acting as the
master-of-ceremonies.
