Tennis pro Taylor Townsend announces pregnancy: ‘I’m so excited’

Tennis pro Taylor Townsend took to social media this week to announce she is expecting her first child.

“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT,” Townsend, 24, wrote in an Instagram post. “Life has a funny way of putting you exactly where you are supposed to be. I’m so excited to embark on the journey of motherhood!!”

The exiciting news accompanied a video showing some of the highlights of her career so far. Check out the clip via the Instagram embed below.

“At four years old I was told I would never make it and I should quit. At 12 I became the youngest-ever to win the Georgia state qualifier,” said Townsend in a voice-over. “At 15, I didn’t think I was good enough, but I proved myself wrong by winning the junior Australian open in singles and in doubles,” she continued.

“I kept fighting, I kept playing. In 2012, at sixteen, I became world number one junior, but when I was due to go to the US Open the USTA told me to stay home because I was not fit to play. I kept fighting, I kept playing. I reached the quarterfinals in singles and I won in doubles,” said Townsend.

“2015 I reached the third round at Roland Garros and entered the top 100. I kept fighting, I kept playing. In 2019 I shocked the tennis world by defeating the world number three and reaching the round of 16. For all my life, for all I heard my career say ‘you can’t’, ‘you won’t make it’ and I used it to find the motivation to continue playing,” she added.

The clip continues with Townsend gushing about her journey into motherhood and showing off her baby bump.

“My entire life, my entire career, I’ve heard you can’t, you won’t and I’ve used it as a reason to fight hard and as motivation to keep playing,” she said. “I’m sure this won’t be any different, so I’ll have to prove them wrong again.

Townsend’s baby is due in March, which means she played in the 2020 U.S. Open while pregnant. She competed in both the singles and doubles tournaments.

Her Instagram bio has been updated to read “mom to be.”

She’s currently ranked 90th in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.

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