Former tennis world No 1 Sharapova pregnant with first child

Former women's tennis world number one Maria Sharapova is pregnant with her first child, the Russian 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.

In the picture, Sharapova - who lives in the United States - is seen touching her stomach and posing on a beach.

Sharapova 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.

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova)