Serena Williams surprised fans when she posted a Snapchat picture, which strongly hinted that the tennis star was pregnant. Serena, who is engaged to Alexis Ohanian, shared the image on Wednesday, April 19. Fans began to speculate if she really was pregnant and a spokesperson for the athlete later confirmed the news.
Williams is 20 weeks pregnant
In the picture, Serena wore a yellow bikini, flaunting what looked like a baby bump. She also captioned the post “20 weeks,” which suggested that she won the Australian Open while she was pregnant. However, within half an hour of sharing the picture, she deleted the Snapchat post.
A spokesperson for Serena confirmed the news of her pregnancy six hours after the image was deleted.
Right after the confirmation of her pregnancy, congratulatory messages started pouring in from both fans and fellow tennis players. The World Tennis Association also congratulated Serena and wished her the best for her new journey. A few days ago, the tennis star posted an update on her Instagram account, praising a motherhood book by Kelly Rowland. This sudden expression of maternal instincts also created ripples surrounding her rumored pregnancy.
Who is Alexis Ohanian?
Serena is expecting the baby with Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit. The duo got engaged in December 2016. The two were courting each other for 15 months and had secretly started dating after they met in Rome.
This will be the couple’s first child. Alexis was also spotted at the Australian Open, cheering his lady on.
Serena Williams pregnant with the Reddit Co-Founder’s baby, won the Australian Open while 9 weeks pregnanthttps://t.co/zThiI4rsrO pic.twitter.com/xp8k5nkxBE
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 20, 2017
Serena – The tennis sensation
Serena’s victory against her sister Venus Williams in the Australian Open final broke the record set by Steffi Graf for the most number of Grand Slam singles championship win by an individual player.
Serena is a five-time Tour Finals winner and was recently rated the Greatest Female Tennis Player of the open era by BBC Sports users. However, with the news of her first child, it is unlikely that the number one ranked player will be competing in any Grand Slam before the 2018 French Open.
With her great win at the Melbourne Park, she is now considered as one of the oldest players to win a major singles championship in the open era.
In total, Serena has won 125 out of the 138 single matches since the 2014 Wimbledon. The Women’s Tennis Association, which listed her for the next Madrid Open, is yet to receive any information regarding her participation.
