Tennis legend Maria Sharapova has announced she is pregnant and expecting her first child with fiancé Alexander Gilkes.
Sharapova retired from sport in February 2020 and took to Instagram to announce the news on Tuesday, while she was celebrating her 35th birthday. The five-time Grand Slam champion wrote: “Precious beginnings!!!
“Eating birthday cake for two has always been my speciality.”
The photo with the caption was shared to her 4.2 million followers, showcasing Sharapova rubbing her bump while on the beach. The 35-year-old was wearing an orange bandeau top with a pair of dark sweatpants as her iconic blonde hair was worn down.
Sharapova was seen cloaking her baby bump under a brown coat when out with her fiancé in Malibu, California on April 6. She began dating Gilkes in 2018, and the pair made their official red carpet debut as a couple at the glitzy and exclusive Met Gala in 2019.
The 42-year-old British businessman proposed to the former World No. 1 in December 2020, when he presented an engagement ring worth £300,000. The pair took to their respective Instagram pages to share the news, with the art dealer writing: “I look forward to a lifetime of loving you, and learning from you @mariasharapova.”
In an interview with MSN.com in September 2021, Sharapova admitted the pair had not yet set a date to tie the knot due to uncertainties and complications presented by the coronavirus pandemic. She said: “We actually haven't discussed it yet because we want our friends and family to be comfortable in an environment and not feel like they have to attend something.”
Alexander attended Eton College and the University of Bristol before becoming a co-founder of venture studio Squared Circles. From 2011 to 2018, he was the president and co-founder of art and collectibles online auction house Paddle 8, but stepped down when it was sold to The Native.
Sharapova’s pregnancy is another change to her life to have occurred in the last two years, following her retirement from tennis in February 2020. In a statement published to Vanity Fair, the athlete wrote about the difficulty in ‘saying goodbye’ to the sport that propelled her career and life to great heights.
“How do you leave behind the only life you've ever known?” Sharapova wrote. “How do you walk away from the courts you've trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love – one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys – a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?
“I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I'm saying goodbye.”
