American female Tennis great Serena Williams will be out of action for the rest of the season due to pregnancy.
The 35-year-old disclosed the message when she posted a picture of herself on Snapchat posing in a mirror selfie with the message: “20 weeks”, before deleting the post on Wednesday.
The World number two who is expected to top the rankings next week is in a relationship with an American internet entrepreneur and investor Alexis Kerry Ohanian aged 33.
Serena’s spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak confirming the good news, said: “I’m happy to confirm that Serena is expecting a baby this fall.”
She added that Serena won’t be playing again in 2017, but is looking forward to playing again the following year.
Serena won the record for Open-era major titles, when she claimed the Australian Open with victory over her elder sister Venus in January.