Yanina Wickmayer announced that she is expecting her first child in April 2021. Wickmayer married Jérôme Vanderzijl, a Belgian soccer player in 2017.

Jérôme and I are super excited to tell you that we’re expecting our firstborn!

Losing my mom when I was 9 is still the biggest challenge I had to face in life but also made me dream about being a mother to my own kids one day. My career has always been my first priority but it became harder and harder to put this dream aside and hold back on starting my own little family… My husband and I are beyond happy to welcome this baby of love into our family in April.

And don’t worry! I still LOVE to play tennis, so this is not a final goodbye. It’s a see you soon! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

– Yanina Wickmayer

Wickmayer’s best results on the court came in 2009 when she reached the semifinals at the US Open. She won 5 singles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of 12 in 2010. She earned over $5 million in prize money in her career.

Belgian tennis player Elise Mertens is currently dating Robbe Ceyssens. Ceyssens was also Merten’s coach until the end of 2021. He also coaches at the Kim Clijsters tennis academy, where Mertens trains.

Ceyssens, like Mertens, is also of Belgian nationality. He played junior tennis and had decent success but then switched to coaching.

Mertens has credited her professional success to Ceyssens. He is a year and a half older than Mertens.

The couple has been dating for some time. Social media pictures show them together going as far back as 2016.

It is not uncommon for players to date members of their own coaching team. But mixing personal and professional life also comes with its own challenges. If a player hits a funk professionally, it becomes hard to make changes in the team.