‘Precious beginnings’: Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova announces her pregnancy

Former world number one tennis player Maria Sharapova announced her first pregnancy on the occasion of her 35th birthday on 19 April (Tuesday). Sharapova took to her Instagram handle to share the news.

The sportsperson posted a photograph of herself at a beach with the caption, “Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty.”

Sharapova and British businessman Alexander Gilkes had got engaged in December last year. Gilkes is the co-founder of a venture studio Squared Circles, launched in 2020 and he was also the co-founder and president of online auction house for art and collectibles Paddle8 from 2011-2018.

She is the only Russian tennis player to have won a career Grand Slam. Some of her titles include Wimbledon (2004), US Open (2006), Australian Open (2008) and French Open (2012 and 2014).

Sharapova was the seventh highest paid female athlete in the world in 2019, according to Forbes. She retired from professional tennis in 2020 just before the COVID pandemic.

The Russian tennis superstar was born in Siberia in 1987 and she moved to the coastal resort of Sochi located in Black Sea at the age of two. She moved to Florida in 1996 to train at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Brandenton.

Her father Yuri moved to US with her but her mother Yelena had to stay back in Russia due to visa-related issues. She turned professional in 2001 and went onto win her first title in Tokyo in 2003.