Tennis superstar Serena Williams on Wednesday revealed she is pregnant, posting a photo of herself in a bathing suit on Snapchat with the caption “20 weeks.”
The 35-year-old, who will return to the No. 1 ranking in the world next week, later deleted the photo. But a representative for Williams eventually confirmed to NBC that Williams is “expecting a baby this fall.”
If Williams is 20 weeks into her term, that would mean she was approximately two months pregnant when she captured her record 23rd Grand Slam tournament title at the Australian Open in January.
Her victory over older sister Venus Williams broke a tie with Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam singles championships in the sport’s modern era. Serena Williams has not played since, citing a knee injury.
Fans reacted with a mixture of awe and glee at the news.
“Serena Williams was pregnant when she won her 23rd grand slam tournament at the Australian Open. And did not drop ONE SET. Let that sink in,” wrote Twitter user @noelleharmony on the social media site.
Other women have left the tour to have children and returned at a high level, though none has done so at Williams’ age. The Belgian player Kim Clijsters retired and had a child before coming back at age 26 and winning three Grand Slam titles as a mother.
Australians Evonne Goolagong and Margaret Court also won Grand Slam titles after having children.
Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 27, missed most of the 2016 season to have a baby and is expected to return to the tour this summer.
Williams, who has played professionally for two decades, first gained the No. 1 ranking in 2002 and has held that spot for more than six years in total during her career. At an age when most tennis professionals have already retired, Williams still dominates the women’s tour.
