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WASHINGTON: Former women’s tennis world number one Maria Sharapova is pregnant with her first child, she announced on her 35th birthday on Tuesday.
The five-time Grand Slam singles champion has been engaged since December 2020 to British businessman Alexander Gilkes.
“Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty,” she captioned the photo on Instagram.
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In the picture, Maria Sharapova — who lives in the United States — is seen touching her stomach and posing on a beach.
She followed the initial message up posting a thank you to those of her 4.2 million subscribers on Instagram who had congratulated her on the news.
“Waking up in paradise and to so many beautiful messages,” she wrote.
Sharapova won all four Grand Slam singles titles — including the French Open twice — before retiring in 2020.
Maria got engaged to British millionaire Gilkes in December 2020.
Gilkes is known as New York’s best-connected Briton whose ex-wife is also a friend of Meghan Markle.
According to the reports, Gilkes is understood to have become friends with Prince William when they were both at Eton and is also said to be close to Prince Harry, who also went to the same school.
He was also a guest at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.
The reports also claimed that the couple was expected to attend the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2018.