Russian Maria Sharapova, a former world No. 1 tennis player, announced on Friday that she had given birth to her first child, Theodore.
“This is the most beautiful, most complex and rewarding gift our little family can dream of,” Sharapova wrote on her Instagram account, marking Theodore’s birth date in Roman numerals, July 1, 2022.
He is the first child of the 35-year-old five-time Grand Slam champion with 42-year-old British businessman Alexander Gilks.
And Sharapova is one of ten tennis players who have won at least one of the four major tennis titles (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows).
Sharapova won her first major title at Wimbledon at the age of seventeen, followed by Flushing Meadows in 2006, Australia in 2008 and then Roland Garros in 2012 and 2014.
She also won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics behind Serena Williams and won 36 titles in her professional singles career.
Sharapova’s career came to an abrupt halt in 2016 after a positive doping test on the sidelines of the Australian Open, which led to her being banned for 15 months before she returned in April 2017 without regaining the level due to chronic shoulder pain.
Source: agencies