Elena Vesnina gave birth to a baby girl, named Elizabeth Tabuntsova, this week, sharing the news on Instagram along with a photo of the newborn.
Read more: 'I had a much bigger prize' - Vesnina expecting first child
"When you took your first breath, you took ours away," Vesnina wrote, adding in Russian, "It's the happiest day of our lives. Daughter, we've been waiting for you."
The 2016 Olympic doubles champion has been off court since Roland Garros, where she clinched the WTA Doubles No.1 ranking with Ekaterina Makarova for the first time.
She announced her pregnancy earlier this fall with a photoshoot meant to capture this next chapter.
“This moment is beautiful and it will go so fast that you’ll forget it soon enough, so it’s good to have some pictures from this time," she said back in October. "I was feeling fine, so it was great to have this opportunity to be creative and capture this part of life.”
As part of the WTA's Special Ranking rules, Vesnina froze her ranking upon taking maternity leave, and would be eligible to use that ranking within three years of any decision she makes to return to tennis.
"I hope people remember me for being a good athlete, but also as a human being," she said. It’s important to me that I’m remembered this way on the court, off the court, in the locker room. Many girls will understand this when they get more mature. As they get closer to the end of their career, they’ll realize it more."
