Maria Sharapova has given birth to her first child

Congratulations!

Maria Sharapova has given birth to her first child.

The former tennis champion announced the happy news she had welcomed Theodore into the world with her fiancé Alexander Gilkes on 15 July.

The 35-year-old sporting ace confirmed the news on her Instagram account with a photo of her and her partner cradling their newborn, and hailed the new addition to their family a "beautiful, challenging and rewarding gift."

The five-time Grand Slam champion captioned the post: "The most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our little family could ask for."

The post has been liked by over 200,000 social media followers, and the couple have been inundated with sweet messages from fans sending their well wishes and congratulations to the now family of three.

One comment read: "OMG hugest congratulations and love", while another added: "Congrats Maria so happy for you!!!"

Famous faces also reached out to the couple, including model Helena Christensen, who wrote: "I am so happy for you two beautiful spirits love you both so much and can’t wait to meet Theo."

Maria announced she was pregnant on her 35th birthday back in April.

In the announcement, Maria shared a photo of her baby bump while on the beach.

The post read: "Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty."

Maria and Alexander made their relationship official in 2019 as they attended the Met Gala together, just over one year later, in December 2020, the 42-year-old businessman proposed.

The couple have remained tight lipped about their wedding plans, although they have previously revealed they wanted to wait until after the coronavirus pandemic to plan their special ceremony so their loved ones could attend.

Speaking previously about wedding plans to MSN, Maria said: "We actually haven't discussed it yet because we want our friends and family to be comfortable in an environment and not feel like they have to attend something,' she explained.