Rest for pregnant Serena

Los Angeles, April 20: It’s another love game for Serena Williams: She is pregnant — and, based on the timeline she offered, she already was when she won the Australian Open.

A spokeswoman for Serena, Kelly Bush Novak, wrote in an email on Wednesday: “I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this Fall.”

Earlier in the day, Serena posted a photo of herself on Snapchat with the caption “20 weeks,” sparking all sorts of speculation on social media about whether she was, indeed, with child.

The 35-year-old won her 23rd Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in January — a little less than 12 weeks ago. She has not competed since, citing a knee injury when withdrawing from tournaments at Indian Wells, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida.

She announced in late December that she was engaged to Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.

Serena would appear to be out for the rest of this tennis season.

There is recent precedent for tennis players to return to action after becoming a mother.

Kim Clijsters retired briefly to start a family, then came back to action and won Grand Slam titles. Another former No.1 and major champion, Victoria Azarenka, has announced she’ll be getting back on tour soon after having a baby. —AP