Rafael Nadal is set to become a father for the first time if a recent report is to be believed.
There have been weeks of speculation in Spain that Maria Francisca Perello, the wife of 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, is pregnant, and Hola magazine has leaked the news to the tennis world.
Nadal and Xisca, his wife as she is commonly known, had been in a long-term relationship, and they wed in October 2019 in Mallorca, Spain. Unlike his other two rivals on Tour, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are both married to their wives and have multiple children, Nadal doesn't for now.
In fact, the 36-year-old has faced plenty of questions about when he intends to start a family. But the latest revelation of the pair vacationing in a yacht back in Spain suggests it is only a matter of time before Nadal celebrates the birth of his first child.
His wife, who is 33, was spotted with a baby bump on her swimsuit, as revealed in the report by Hola. She has been wearing loose clothing during her public appearances, which has attracted the gazing eyes of tennis fans.
Nadal is currently preparing for Wimbledon despite initial reports indicating he has withdrawn from the tournament. Having captured a 14th Roland Garros title almost two weeks, this is the best possible news for the former World No. 1.
He has previously been doubtful if he would still be playing the sport in his late thirties, and in an interview in 2020, he thought he would be retired by now and planning to start a family.
"I keep my commitment to tennis and my happiness. I enjoy both tennis and outside it. Yes, I have a wife, too, and I am not alone to make decisions. You have to suit situations. Having family? I don't know. Things are not easy to be predicted. At this age, I thought that I would have already been a former player and that I would have started a family."