Tennis star Elena Vesnina achieved No. 1 ranking during pregnancy

Ending months of speculation, Elena Vesnina said that she and husband Pavel Tabuntsov are expecting their first child at the end of this year

Rio Olympics gold medal-winning tennis star Elena Vesnina has announced that she is pregnant, and more importantly, revealed that she attained her recent World No 1 doubles ranking playing through the pregnancy.

Ending months of speculation, Vesnina said that she and husband Pavel Tabuntsov are expecting their first child at the end of this year. The Russian tennis champ said that she achieved her No 1 ranking with compatriot and long-time partner Ekaterina Makarova after playing the 2018 season under doctor's advice.

"It's the biggest, happiest moment I could have in my life. There's no other reaction but tears of joy. I'm happy that it happened, and when it happened. It gets tricky when you start thinking if it's not a good time for a family, but it's always a good time. I'm happy that it happened like this," said Vesnina, adding that hiding her pregnancy was one of the toughest things to do.

"I didn't want to tell anyone. Even my best friend didn't know until almost a couple of weeks ago," said Vesnina, who admitted to having smartly cropped some of her Instagram pictures and sitting behind large tables to hide her pregnant stomach.

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