SERENA Williams, world number two tennis player is pregnant and will have a baby by the end of the year. The 35-year-old, who has 23 Grand Slam titles to her name, posted a picture of herself on social media app Snapchat on Wednesday, April 19 showing a prominent bump with the message “20 weeks.” She deleted this later in the day.

Her representative, who confirmed the pregnancy to Skysports, several hours after Williams’ Snapchat picture went viral, said, “I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this fall.” Williams clinched the record for Open-era major titles, nearly 18 years after winning her first at the 1999 US Open, when she claimed the Australian Open with victory over her sister Venus in January.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion now looks set for a spell out of tennis which will mean missing the three Grand Slams – the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Williams, who announced her engagement to Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder in December 2016, has not played on tour since winning in Melbourne as she pulled out of high-profile tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, blaming a knee injury.

It caps an emotional few days for the American who will return to the top of the world rankings next week. She will also be eligible to retain that No 1 status under the WTA special ranking rule if she plays her first tournament within 12 months of giving birth.

— May 1, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT