The photo posted on Snapchat with the baby bump and then removed a few mins after had left some doubts about Serena Williams’s pregnancy. Also WTA had removed its message of congratulations, but on Wednesday night Serena’s publicist, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed the news to the media, saying that she is due to give birth this fall, probably at the end of September or October.
Serena won her 23th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open without losing any set during her seventh week of pregnancy. The 2017 season is already ended for her, confirmed her management, which added that the player ‘intends to comeback in 2018’.
Will she be motivated enough to compete after becoming mother at 36 age? If the answer will be yes, we imagine it will be tough to see her in Melbourne next year after less than four months since the baby’s birth.
Surely she will have some motivations, like passing Margaret Smith Court’s 24 Major titles and competing again against her biggest rivals, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka who became a mother in December. Also in the past Kim Clijsters and Smith Court showed it’s possible to be competitive being a mother: the Belgian player won two US Open titles after her daughter Jada’s birth, while in 1973 the American player won three Major events after that her son Daniel was born.
Also, if she will come back within 12 months from the birth, Serena will be able to retain her ranking thanks to this WTA Special rule.
