Maria Sharapova welcomes her first child with fiancé Alexander Gilkes: The most 'rewarding gift'
Maria Sharapova is ready to ace motherhood.
The tennis star, 35, announced on Instagram Friday that she and British businessman Alexander Gilkes, 42, welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Theodore.
"The most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our little family could ask for," Sharapova wrote, was born on July 1.
The former No. 1 player announced her engagement to Gilkes in December 2020. The couple announced their pregnancy on Sharapova's 35th birthday in April.
"Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty," the five-time grand slam champions wrote on Instagram at the time.
Sharapova came into the spotlight when she beat former No. 1 seed Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon singles final at age 17. She is one of only 10 women to win all four Grand Slams during her professional career.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Maria Sharapova announces she is pregnant with first child
In 2016, Sharapova was suspended from playing for two years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after she failed a drug test at the Australian Open. The Russian tennis star retired in February 2020 after playing one last Australian Open that January.
"In giving my life to tennis, tennis gave me a life. I’ll miss it everyday," she announced in a guest column for Vanity Fair. "Looking back now, I realize that tennis has been my mountain. My path has been filled with valleys and detours, but the views from its peak were incredible. After 28 years and five Grand Slam titles, though, I’m ready to scale another mountain—to compete on a different type of terrain."
Contributing: Analis Bailey
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maria Sharapova gives birth to baby boy with fiancé Alexander Gilkes
