Serena Williams, 35, stirred up a massive wave by posting a profile picture of herself on her Snapchat official account yesterday having a ''20 weeks'' captcha attached to it. Although she deleted the picture, it seems to have been enough for social media to get itself into a frenzy tide. According to ESPN and the WTA official website, one of Serena Williams' spokesman confirmed the rumor according to which the 35-year-old player is pregnant.
Inevitably, Serena will step off the grand stage of women's Tennis in a moment when everyone would've expected news regarding her clay court schedule.
I 2017, she has only two appearances on the WTA Tour both dating back from January. It was the warm-up event in Auckland and then the remarkable run at the Australian Open with Williams snatching her 23rd Grand Slam title in singles after beating her older sister Venus in the final confrontation.
Serena Williams' pregnancy seems a natural follow-up to the story
Although unexpected, the news that Serena Williams is expecting a baby should not be a shocker. Last year, in December she made the announcement of her engagement with one of Reddit founders Alexis Ohanian. The 33-year-old tech prominent figure and the 35-year-old tennis player are now back in the spotlight with following events yesterday.
If that ''20 weeks'' turns out being valid, then Serena is expected to give birth to a child in September.
Moreover, the same two words collocation means that she was already pregnant back in January during that tremendous Australian Open bid. With Serena off the competing board, the WTA Tour is waiting for another star to return to action.
Recently, Victoria Azarenka put up a statement according to which she is targeting the month of July for a comeback during the outdoor summer swing in North America.
It won't be a shock if Serena Williams will choose the retirement card
At 35 years of age and with a baby on the way, Serena Williams' retirement from tennis seems closer than ever.
In the past years, her schedule consistently shrank having the American focusing primarily on Grand Slams. Besides, the injuries also took their toll as she constantly struggled to cope with.
It seems that for the remaining part of the current season, the WTA circuit will hold breath without any help from Williams. Although unlikely, we might see Serena on the tennis court again in 2018. Just remember Kim Clijsters who made herself a habit of great returns following long hiatus.