Pregnant Serena Williams Shares Message to Her ‘Dearest Baby’ as She Returns to No. 1 Ranking

Suzy Byrne
·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
Serena Williams, doing her thing.
Serena Williams, doing her thing at the Australian Open on Jan. 28, is once again the top ranked female player in the world. (Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Serena Williams hasn’t played tennis professionally since January, but on Monday the pregnant sports star climbed back to the No. 1 spot in the Women’s Tennis Association ranking — and celebrated the moment with her baby-to-be.

The 35-year-old tennis ace, who’s on a babymoon with fiancé Alexis Ohanian, shared a photo (that hopefully she won’t delete this time) of her growing baby bump — while sporting a black bikini — as well as a special message to the unborn child. It marks the first time she’s publicly speaking out about the pregnancy after she announced it via a Snapchat photo last week.

My Dearest Baby, You gave me the strength I didn’t know I had. You taught me the true meaning of serenity and peace. I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait for you to join the players box next year. But most importantly, I am so happy to share being number one in the world with you…. once again today. On @alexisohanian bday. ???? from the world's oldest number one to the world's youngest number one. -Your Mommy

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Apr 24, 2017 at 6:06am PDT

“My Dearest Baby, You gave me the strength I didn’t know I had,” wrote the tennis star, who won the Australian Open in January while in the early stages of her pregnancy. “You taught me the true meaning of serenity and peace. I can’t wait to meet you. I can’t wait for you to join the players box next year. But most importantly, I am so happy to share being number one in the world with you…. once again today. On @alexisohanian bday.”

She concluded with, “From the world’s oldest number one to the world’s youngest number one. -Your Mommy.”

Another Instagram photo from her vacation:

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Apr 22, 2017 at 8:56am PDT

While Williams hasn’t played tennis since her big victory down under (she sat out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., and the Miami Open because of injuries), she returned to the top spot in tennis on Monday when Angelique Kerber was shifted to No. 2.

Serena, who holds the record for having won more Grand Slam titles than any other player in the Open era, may only hold the top spot again briefly, but as she noted, she plans to be back on top after the baby arrives.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian cozy up on the beach.
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian cozy up while on vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on April 21. (Photo: AKM-GSI)

For now, she’s focusing on her family. She’s been on vacation with Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Photos of them from over the weekend show them looking giddy and in love as they relax in their bathing suits.

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