Another pro tennis player has joined the mommy club. French Open champion Anastasia Myskina gave birth to her first child, a boy, on Monday evening in a Moscow hospital. The baby weighed in at a healthy 3.6 kg (7 lbs 15 oz) with a length of 54 cm (21 ¼ in) and coincidently shares a birthday with Andre Agassi. He has been named Zhenya.
The 26-year-old Myskina was rumored to be with child in an article published by Russian magazine Tvoi Den last fall. A couple of photographs circulating on the internet also showed the makings of a baby bump, particularly one taken while she was in Dubai on vacation.
The article stated that Myskina was already four months pregnant with an anticipated due date in May.
As for the father of the child, Myskina refused to speak of his identity, although he is believed to be her former boyfriend, Constantine Korneyev, a defender for the Tsske hockey club. Reports indicate he is currently with the Russian national team in Quebec City, where the World Hockey Championships are being held.
"That topic [of the father] is closed. I’ll just say that I am not getting married in the near future. I am single,” she said in an interview with Tvoi Den in December.
The Russian press had written that the two were spotted at a jewelry store some time ago and purchased an engagement ring, but details of their split have been scarce.
There is no word on any potential comeback now that the former world No. 2 has welcomed her newborn. Her last match on the professional circuit was in June last year, when she lost to Meghann Shaughnessy 6-1, 6-0 in the first round of the French Open.
Myskina had her share of personal and professional struggles following her breakthrough Roland Garros crown in 2004, when she became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam. Spotty performances, her mother’s illness, and a foot injury hampered the feisty Muscovite, forcing her to take time off the Tour to cope.
While healing the foot injury, Myskina participated in a celebrity ice skating competition in Russia last fall, which was short-lived due to a groin injury she sustained during practice. She has also hosted a soccer show on Russian television.
It remains to be seen if she will take Lindsay Davenport’s example and make a return to the WTA Tour or if she decides to retire from the game altogether as has Kim Cljisters (so far).