Serena Williams expecting first baby, to return back to pro tennis in 2018: Spokeswoman

New Delhi: Tennis legend Serena Williams, who is arguably the greatest female tennis player to have played the sport, confirmed on Wednesday that she was pregnant and was expecting her first baby this year.

The American first posted a photo of herself in a yellow one-piece bathing suit on the social media site Snapchat with the caption "20 weeks."

As speculations were rife that Serena's post was about pregnancy, the 35-year-old soon deleted the post triggering a debate among tennis fans about whether or not she was joking.

However hours later, Los Angeles-based publicist Kelly Bush Novak confirmed to Reuters that the tennis superstar was pregnant.

"I`m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this fall," she said.

Novak also confirmed that Serena won't be able to play for the rest of the year but was looking forward to make a comeback in 2018.

Williams, the world`s highest paid female athlete, announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian last December.

Going by her Instagram post, if Serena is expecting her baby in another 20 weeks, it means that she was approximately two months pregnant when she captured her record 23rd Grand Slam tournament singles title at the Australian Open in January earlier this year.

Tennis` U.S. governing body, the United States Tennis Association, wrote on Facebook, "Join us in congratulating the GOAT and her fiancé Alexis Ohanian on this incredible news!" referring to Williams with the acronym for "Greatest of All Time."

A pregnancy would likely end the 2017 season for Williams, who has not played since her Australian Open win, citing a knee injury.