Image copyright AFP Image caption Serena Williams is the most decorated tennis player in Grand Slam history

"Serena Williams won the Grand Slam while pregnant so all men should probably shut up forever," wrote one Twitter user.

The American tennis player has announced that she is in her 20th week, meaning Serena, 35, won her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam singles tournament while she was eight weeks pregnant.

This news found a wide response in social networks, whose users said that Serena Williams is GOAT. (For those who know English: this is not what you think. This abbreviation means "greatest of all time" - the greatest of all time. - ed. )

Serena deserves everyone's admiration, said Twitter users.

It is a well-known truth that doing anything that requires effort is often not at all easy for a woman in the first weeks of pregnancy.

Get up? Maybe. To get to work? May be. Eat breakfast? Forget about it.

This is because the female body is undergoing major changes.

Even before a barely noticeable tummy appears, hormones begin to dance, making their own adjustments to the functioning of the female body.

During the first weeks, most women experience fatigue caused by rising levels of two hormones, progesterone and estrogen.

Women in this situation are usually advised to get more rest. In the case of Serena, this advice is clearly not suitable.

Many women suffer from nausea. Often it starts in the morning and does not go away by the afternoon. A small percentage of pregnant women suffer so badly that they have to be hospitalized.

Regular vomiting does not surprise anyone and sometimes begins even before the pregnancy is diagnosed by a doctor.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption World marathon champion Paula Radcliffe continued to compete while pregnant

But even if Serena was lucky and did not throw up in the first weeks, she could well have other problems.

These include swelling of the breasts, frequent trips to the bathroom, and a sudden aversion to previously familiar foods and smells.

During pregnancy, the volume of blood in the body increases, which forces the kidneys to process more fluid, which ends up in the bladder.

Hormones produced during pregnancy can also lead to constipation and heartburn as the body adjusts to take care of the growing fetus.

Studies show that, starting from the fifth week, Serena should have felt major changes in the cardiovascular system that delivers blood to the fetus.

Physical exercise in this state is beneficial and not dangerous for the child, according to the UK Public Health System website. British doctors urge pregnant women to lead an active lifestyle if they feel comfortable doing so.

Serena's high level of fitness and her regular workout regimen may have helped her get through the early stages of her pregnancy more easily.

Changes in the brain

Some changes occur during pregnancy and in a woman's brain.

Recent studies have shown that pregnancy reduces gray matter volume in some parts of the brain, which helps a woman bond with her child and prepares her for motherhood.

Researchers say the brain changes during pregnancy are just as severe as those during adolescence.

This explains why many women experience mood swings early in pregnancy.

So you can forgive Serena for not being as focused as usual at the Australian Open. However, this did not stop her from losing a single set.

Serena isn't the first woman to compete in a major sporting event while expecting a baby.

Long-distance runners often continue to run marathons for a decent amount of time.

There are examples of pregnant women competing in the Olympics, including shooting, curling, archery and dressage.

"Top-level female athletes usually have a special diet and training regimen. Intense training in the eighth week should not affect the course of pregnancy in such athletes and in general in people who are used to high loads," explains Professor Janice Reimer from the British Royal College of Obstetricians and gynecology.

"In the early weeks, hormones can actually improve athletic performance as a woman naturally produces a little more steroids," says Janice Reimer.

And yet, Serena Williams' victory at the Australian Open is an outstanding achievement: the athlete is at the very top of the sport, having won more Grand Slams than any other tennis player.

If, after giving birth this fall, her maternity leave lasts less than 12 months, she will be allowed to keep her place in the world rankings.

On Monday, Serena will move from second place to first again.

Recently, we were happy for the first racket of the world Serena Williams (Serena Williams), who, according to rumors, will soon become a mother. Insiders assured that the father of the child is none other than the Canadian rapper Drake (Drake). Journalists said that the hip-hop artist and athlete are incredibly happy, the rapper is even going to put Serena's Ultrasound on the cover of his new music album. However, the other day, tennis fans were once again amazed by the details of Serena's personal life. According to rumors, the tennis player is not pregnant at all and is dating another man - one of the founders of the Reddit website, Alexis Ohanyan.

Note that neither Serena Williams herself, nor Drake, nor Alexis commented on their "status". By the way, rumors about the position of the athlete began to appear in mid-October. An insider told Celebtricity.com that Williams, 35, and Drake, 29, will soon become parents and Serena is already five months pregnant. According to insiders, Williams has already introduced her boyfriend to her parents, and they warmly received him.

By the way, in 2015, Serena Williams won three victories at the most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournaments. The tennis player won the Australian Open, French Roland Garros and English Wimbledon and aimed for the main achievement in her tennis career - the Grand Slam, but lost at the US Open.

It is known that after the defeat at the US Open, Serena was very depressed. The coach of the athlete, Patrick Muratoglu, then said that Williams had no motivation to continue the season, besides, she had injuries, and she played through pain for almost half of the season. Apparently, a romantic relationship with Drake or with Alexis Ohanian consoled the depressed Serena and did not allow her to fall into depression. Well, we wish Serena and her boyfriend, whoever he is, the best of luck.

Serena Williams has joined the list of stars who posed nude for magazine covers during pregnancy. The formula for the success of such a shooting has long been derived - by actress Demi Moore and photographer Annie Leibovitz back in 1991. So Serena only had to accept the rules of the "game" and repeat the iconic story.

Serena graced the cover of the August Vanity Fair with her image. The cover story will focus on her relationship with her fiancé Alexis Ohanian. From the meeting - in December 2015 - to the present day, when the couple spends the last months in anticipation of their first child.

She has an incredibly big heart. Everyone knows her as an amazing athlete, but behind all her success lies a big kind heart. She gives herself to everything she does - in friendship, in love, and soon, I'm sure, also in motherhood,

Alexis Ohanyan told about Serena in an interview.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian for Vanity Fair

The day before yesterday, we published a note about the return of Serena Williams to the big sport, which she dedicated to all women who have experienced difficult pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Many people ask what is the meaning of her gesture. It is about telling the women of the world that they are strong, they are not alone, they are incredibly cool. Williams recently gave a lengthy interview with Harper's Bazaar, in which she talked about the difficulties she faced on her mother's journey. We decided to collect some quotes from the athlete about her parenting experience - not only from this interview, but also from her other speeches.

About the photo in the yellow swimsuit (thanks to which everyone knew that she was pregnant): “I was not going to show it to anyone. I just took pictures once a week to keep the chronicle of pregnancy. But I pressed the wrong button and posted the photo. Usually no one calls me much, but after half an hour, when I looked at the phone screen, I saw that I had four missed calls. And I'm like, damn it! But it's okay, I was still going to tell everyone in five or six days, so everything is fine.

About the birth of a daughter: “They put it on my chest, and it was wonderful. And then everything went wrong.”

About postpartum complications: “I was in terrible pain. I was cut first for the first time to get the child. And then the second time, because I had a hematoma. So now I have a terrible scar.<…>But it was worth it. Olympia is wonderful, and if I had to go through all this again, I would do it.

About the first days after cesarean: “I didn’t even expect it to be so terrible - I couldn’t walk. I couldn't even roll over in bed. I couldn't even go to the toilet on my own. My husband literally carried me in his arms. I did not expect that from one of the strongest athletes in the world I will turn into a person who cannot get out of bed without help.

About the birth experience: “Every mother, regardless of race or background, deserves a healthy pregnancy and an easy delivery. I really want all women to have the opportunity to have the very best childbirth experience. Mine was far from the best, but it is mine, and I am grateful for it and glad that everything happened this way. I got stronger. And I admire women - all of them, whether they have children or not - even more than before. We are strong!

About the postpartum period: “Sometimes I think I'm still coming to my senses. People need to talk more and more about the postpartum period because it's kind of like the continuation of a pregnancy, the fourth trimester."

About the difficulties at the initial stage of motherhood: “Eternal despair, which for some reason is not particularly talked about. Here your child begins to cry, and you do not understand what to do - and fall into despair.

About perfectionism: “One day Olympia cried, I went to look for a bottle and couldn’t. And then I started crying. Because I felt like a bad mother. And I want to be the perfect mother for her.”

On the dissemination of knowledge:“I'm always busy - baby, tennis, my fashion line. But I try to find time to spread the word - to say or write something about pregnancy and childbirth. I want people to have access to useful information, so I try to draw attention to certain problems that women face during pregnancy.

About plans for a second child: "Yes, I want. I tell everyone that if I wasn’t working now, I would definitely be pregnant by now.”

At the present time, the Internet has grown into a machine that allows information to be disseminated at an unprecedented speed. Another property of the Web is that nothing is lost in it. Even if, for example, Nick Kyrgios writes a tweet once again, and then decides to delete it, then he will not succeed. The printscreen of this message will never leave the Internet. It was these factors that helped make one snapshot from Snapchat a worldwide sensation on April 19th.

On this day Serena Williams suddenly shared a photo on her Snapchat. Formally, of course, she did not announce her pregnancy. But you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to draw the appropriate conclusion based on the appeared tummy and the signature “20 weeks”. And also consider that she won her 23rd Grand Slam tournament while already in position.

In the blink of an eye, all the news outlets trumpeted that Serena Williams was pregnant. But at the same time, the same photograph remained the only source. Soon even the WTA sent a congratulatory tweet to the American. But Serena after some time decided to remove the picture from the snapchat, and the WTA, in turn, had to delete the tweet with congratulations.

Serena's motivation for deleting the post remains unclear, given that her pregnancy is already a confirmed fact. Perhaps someone on her team asked for this image to be removed? It was too late anyway, as she was already trending on Twitter half an hour after the photo was posted. Or did she herself not expect that there would be such a resonance? I would like to believe that at some point we will learn the details of what happened from the American herself.

20 weeks on Sharapova's 30th birthday

But now we have already received confirmation, and immediately after the removal of the picture, the Internet was seething, giving rise to one theory after another. One of the most popular - Serena just decided to joke by taking a photo after a hearty lunch. It is clear that April 1 has already been left behind, but why is the American worse than Connor McGregor, who on April 19 last year wrote that he had finished his career. In case you're not aware, the Irish MMA fighter's career is still far from over.

This date was also interesting because Maria Sharapova celebrated its 30th anniversary on this day. However, the American successfully drew all the attention to herself, occupying the headlines. Williams decided to announce her pregnancy on Sharapova's birthday - a coincidence? Decide for yourself.

Informational silence lasted for several hours. Someone had already lost faith that this was true, but in the end it was still not a joke. The official representative of the American Kelly Bush Novak confirmed that the youngest Williams is expecting her first child in the fall.

At least with the future father there is no mystery. It is Alexis Ohanian- American businessman of Armenian origin, one of the founders of the social news site Reddit. Serena and Alexis got engaged late last year. So far, no official wedding date has been announced.

Serena is planning a comeback

Shamil Tarpishchev commented on the news shortly after the picture appeared on the Snapchat: “I think that it is unlikely that she will return to tennis after giving birth, given her age. Of course, we have seen examples of tennis players coming back and winning Grand Slams, but not at 35. Serena has an advantage in physics, but after giving birth, it will go away. The speed of the ball may remain at it, but the speed of movement will become much slower. My opinion is that he will not be able to return to his level after giving birth.

However, according to Reuters, he plans to return to the WTA in 2018. Currently Victoria Azarenko prepares to return after the birth of her son. The Belarusian became a mother in December 2016, and she planned the first tournament for July. If Serena follows the same schedule, she will be able to return around Roland Garros 2018. Although here, of course, everything is individual. But for sure, Victoria will be able to give the American a couple of tips on what awaits her.

What does Serena's pregnancy mean in terms of tennis? The American will return to first place in the ranking on April 24. But, of course, she won't be there for long. At most, she will remain the leader until the second week of May, when the points for the tournament in Rome, where she won in 2016, will burn out.

Given that Angelique Kerber while she performs unconvincingly, other athletes have a chance to become a leader. The most realistic contender is Karolina Pliskova. The Czech has a chance to top the ranking already during the clay season. If we talk about more distant prospects, then in the championship race next to Pliskova are Konta and Wozniacki. It's too early to talk about their chances for the top spot, but given Serena's decree, this opens up more opportunities for other tennis players in terms of scoring at the Slams.

As for Serena's prospects after giving birth, everything will depend on her. If she still loves tennis, she will find the motivation to return to the court at 36 and continue her career as a tennis mom.