Winner of 23 Grand Slam tournaments and second racket of the world, Serena Williams made it clear why she is missing the current season and still has not played in any tournament since winning the Australian Open. The American tennis player posted her photo on Snapchat with a small tummy and the caption: "20 weeks." There can be no doubt - the athlete thus spoke about her pregnancy.

Williams Jr. later deleted the picture, but it quickly spread across social networks. Previously, the tennis player stated that she did not play at representative tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami due to a knee injury, but there were rumors in the tennis community about the pregnancy of a 35-year-old American woman. Now they can be considered confirmed.

Moreover, after some time, the representative of the Olympic champion of London Kelly Bush Novak officially put an end to this issue. “I'm glad to confirm that Serena will have a baby this fall,” she said.

On December 29 last year, Williams announced her engagement to the founder of the Reddit website, Alexis Okhanyan.

Already in position, Serena continued to compete in WTA tournaments. In addition to winning the Australian Open, she played two matches in Oakland. The results achieved allow Williams to take fourth place in the WTA championship race, according to which the selection for the final tournament of the year is taking place. It is interesting that next week Serena will also become the first racket in the world due to Angelica Kerber's refusal to play at the tournament in Stuttgart.

The organizers of the US Open, which Williams has won six singles, two doubles and one mixed, have already congratulated one of the world's greatest tennis players.

Interestingly, the day before the announced news, the tournament management admitted that it was looking forward to Williams' meeting with Victoria Azarenka on the courts in New York. The Belarusian tennis player gave birth to her first child, whom she named Leo, on December 30 last year. A match for young mothers would become a real sensation in the world of tennis.

However, not everyone is sure that Williams will be able to return to the sport after giving birth, although, according to rumors, she expects to do so in 2018. President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev believes that the age of the American woman will make itself felt.

“I think that Serena Williams is unlikely to return to tennis after giving birth, given her age. We, of course, have seen examples of tennis players returning and winning Grand Slam tournaments, but not at 35. Serena has an advantage in physics, but after giving birth, it will go away. The speed of the ball may remain the same, but the speed of movement will become much slower. My opinion is that Serena Williams will not be able to return to her level after giving birth, "- quotes Tarpishchev" Championship ".

Serena Williams was congratulated by American volleyball player Kerry Walsh Jennings. She is herself a mother of three and won Olympic gold in 2012 while in her fifth week of pregnancy.

WTA head Steve Simon also did not stand aside and conveyed the wishes of Williams: “We are very happy for Serena. This is great news and we wish her all the best. We will wait for her to return to the competition. "

I'm glad for my compatriot and Andy Roddick. He is sure that Serena will be a wonderful mom.

Chris Evert predicts a new happy life for Serena.

Internet users joke that Williams' child is already in sixth place in tennis ratings - with such a mother, you can not go lower in any way.

Serena Williams is pregnant and the kid is already ranked number 6 in the world.

- TheFloydSpin (@thefloydspin)

Image copyright AFP Image caption Serena Williams is the most decorated tennis player in the history of Grand Slam tournaments

"Serena Williams won the Grand Slam while pregnant, so all men should probably shut up forever," wrote one Twitter user.

The American tennis player has announced that she is in week 20, which means 35-year-old Serena won her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title while in her eighth week of pregnancy.

This news found a wide response in social networks, users of which stated that Serena Williams is GOAT. (For those who know English: this is not what you think. This abbreviation means "greatest of all time" - the greatest of all time. - approx. ed. )

Serena deserves everyone's admiration, Twitter users said.

It is a well-known truth that it is often not at all easy for a woman to do anything that requires an effort in the first weeks of pregnancy.

Get up? Perhaps. To get to work? May be. Eat breakfast? Forget about it.

This is all because the female body is undergoing major changes.

Even before a barely noticeable tummy appears, hormones begin to dance, making their own adjustments to the functioning of the female body.

During the first weeks, most women experience fatigue caused by rising levels of two hormones, progesterone and estrogen.

Women in this situation are usually advised to get more rest. In the case of Serena, this advice clearly does not apply.

Many women suffer from nausea. This often starts in the morning and does not go away by lunchtime. A small percentage of pregnant women suffer so badly that they have to be hospitalized.

Regular vomiting does not surprise anyone and sometimes begins even before a pregnancy is diagnosed by a doctor.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption World marathon champion Paula Radcliffe continued to compete, being bemer

But even if Serena was lucky and did not feel sick in the first weeks, she could very well face other problems.

Among them - breast swelling, the need to frequently run to the toilet and an unexpected aversion to previously familiar foods and smells.

During pregnancy, the body's blood volume increases, which forces the kidneys to process more fluid, which ends up in the bladder.

The hormones released during gestation can also lead to constipation and heartburn as the body reorganizes itself to take care of the growing fetus.

Research shows that from week 5 onwards, Serena should have felt a major change in the cardiovascular system that supplies blood to the fetus.

Exercise in this state is beneficial and not dangerous for the child, according to the website of the UK public health system. British doctors urge pregnant women to lead an active lifestyle if they feel comfortable with it.

Serena's high level of fitness and her regular exercise regimen may have helped her get through the early stages of pregnancy more easily.

Brain changes

Several changes occur during pregnancy and in the woman's brain.

Recent studies have shown that pregnancy reduces the volume of gray matter in some parts of the brain, which helps a woman to bond with her baby and prepares her for motherhood.

The researchers argue that the changes in the brain during pregnancy are just as severe as during growing up in adolescence.

This explains why many women experience mood swings during the early stages of pregnancy.

So we can forgive Serena for not being as focused at the Australian Open as usual. However, this did not prevent her from losing a single set.

Serena is not the first woman to take part in major sports while expecting a baby.

Long distance runners often continue to run marathons for a decent amount of time.

There are examples of pregnant athletes participating in the Olympic Games, including shooting, curling, archery and dressage competitions.

"For top athletes, a special diet and training regimen is usually developed. Intensive training in the eighth week should not affect the course of pregnancy for such athletes and in general for people who are accustomed to high loads," explains Professor Janice Rymer from the British Royal College of Midwifery and gynecology.

“In the early weeks, hormones can actually improve athletic performance as a woman naturally produces a little more steroids,” says Janice Rymer.

And yet Serena Williams' victory at the Australian Open is an outstanding achievement: she is at the very pinnacle of the sport, having won more Grand Slam tournaments than any other female tennis player.

If, after having a baby this fall, her maternity leave lasts less than 12 months, she will be allowed to maintain her place in the world rankings.

On Monday, from second place, Serena will again move to first.

Yesterday, the famous tennis player Serena Williams announced her pregnancy by posting on Snapchat a photo in a swimsuit with a clearly visible belly, and captioning it like this: "20 weeks." While Williams and her fiancé Alexis Ohanian are accepting congratulations on their upcoming replenishment, HELLO.RU is figuring out how this news can affect the career of 35-year-old Serena.

Serena Williams with fiance Alexis Ohanyan

Williams will become a mother in early fall, and, according to her spokesman Kelly Bush Novak, will no longer appear on the court this season - the tennis player intends to focus on family and child. However, Serena, who currently holds the title of the second racket of the world (on April 24, Williams will regain the title of the first racket of the world on points, which she lost to Angelica Kerber on March 20 after the tournament in the American Indian Wells), said that she plans to resume her career in 2018 year. True, tennis experts doubt this will happen.

I think that Serena Williams is unlikely to return to tennis after giving birth, given her age. We, of course, have seen examples of tennis players returning and winning Grand Slam tournaments, but not at 35. Serena has an advantage in physics, but after childbirth it will go away. The speed of the ball may remain with her, but the speed of movement In my opinion - Serena Williams will not be able to return to her level after giving birth, - said the President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev in an interview with the Championship.

Hearts of two

With this photo, Serena announced her pregnancy at 20 weeks.

Another circumstance is no less important. Williams last competed in January this year, winning the prestigious 2017 Australian Open. At that time, the tennis player was already in the second month of pregnancy, which she could not help but guess. This fact can cause a big scandal. The fact is that pregnancy in sports is called legal doping. It is known that the "interesting position" has helped tennis players, gymnasts, skiers, biathletes more than once to win the most important and high-profile competitions, and become Olympic champions.

The fact is that in the early stages of pregnancy, a woman's body is rebuilt, revealing new, hidden, reserves, a substance called human chorionic gonadotropin begins to be produced, which acts as a growth hormone, significantly improving the woman's physical condition, endurance and pain threshold. The expectant mother has another circle of blood circulation, the activity of the heart improves, the volume of the lungs increases, and protein accumulates. The peak of a woman's physical form occurs at about 7-11 weeks of pregnancy (that is, just at 2-3 months).

Knowing about these features of the female body, many coaches and doctors in the Soviet years specifically persuaded athletes to become pregnant before important starts. What happened next was decided together: if a woman wanted to continue a successful career, she had an abortion (while the activity of the endocrine system was activated for another year, which made it possible to mobilize the capabilities of the body), or went on maternity leave and devoted herself to the family. In any case, it was necessary to keep silent about pregnancy during the competition - it is not officially prohibited, but if it is made public, it can cause legal proceedings on the part of rivals: in this situation, the strength and capabilities of the expectant mother are an order of magnitude higher than the abilities of an ordinary person.

Family solution

Serena and Venus Williams at the 2017 Australian Open Serena Williams was lucky: her rival in the 2017 Australian Open final was her older sister Venus, whom she beat with a score of 6: 4, 6: 4. She is unlikely to go to court to challenge the results of the competition. There is one more nuance here. The last time the sisters met on the court in 2009 in the Wimbledon final. Then the Russian woman Elena Dementieva, who suffered an unfortunate defeat from Serena in the semifinals, ironically called the outcome of the decisive match "a family decision." The world press inflated a scandal, trying to figure out whether the sisters are playing honestly. Everyone remained unconvinced and failed to prove anything, but something else is obvious: the Williams sisters are best friends, there has always been a special, very tender and trusting relationship between them. In interviews with reporters, they have repeatedly admitted that playing against each other is a real test.

Serena and Venus Williams It is possible that Venus knew about the "interesting position" of her sister during the Australian Open-2017 and simply allowed her to win - thanks to this victory, Serena again became the first racket of the world (Venus is twelfth in the WTA ranking) and received the 23rd title at the Grand Slam tournaments , coming out on this indicator to the second place (ahead of her only Margaret Court, who has 24 victories) and now with a clear conscience can go on a well-deserved rest, devoting himself to the family and the unborn child.

We recently celebrated world # 1, Serena Williams, who is rumored to be a mom soon. Insiders claimed that the child's father is none other than Canadian rapper Drake. The journalists said that the hip-hop artist and the athlete are incredibly happy, the rapper is even going to put Serena's Uzi on the cover of his new music album. However, the other day, tennis fans were once again amazed at the details of Serena's personal life. According to rumors, the tennis player is not pregnant at all and is dating another man - one of the founders of the Reddit website, Alexis Ohanyan.

Note that neither Serena Williams herself, nor Drake, nor Alexis have commented on their "status" in any way. By the way, rumors about the position of the athlete began to appear in mid-October. An insider told Celebtricity.com that 35-year-old Williams and 29-year-old Drake will soon become parents and Serena is already in her fifth month of pregnancy. According to insiders, Williams had already introduced her boyfriend to her parents, and they received him warmly.

By the way, in 2015, Serena Williams won three victories at the most prestigious tennis Grand Slam tournaments. The tennis player won the Australian Open, the French Roland Garros and the English Wimbledon and aimed at the main achievement in her tennis career - Grand Slam, but lost at the US Open.

It is known that after the defeat at the US Open, Serena was very depressed. Athlete's coach Patrick Muratoglu then said that Williams had no motivation to continue the season, besides, she had injuries, and for almost half of the season she played through pain. Apparently, a romantic relationship with Drake or with Alexis Ohanian consoled the depressed Serena and did not allow her to become depressed. Well, we wish Serena and her boyfriend, whoever he is, happiness.