Rafael Nadal and wife Mery Perello 'expecting baby boy' together

Rafael Nadal and his wife Mery Perello are said to be expecting a baby boy after 17 years together.

The tennis legend announced at a press conference in June that his childhood sweetheart Perello is pregnant.

It has since been reported by the Spanish tabloid Hola! that the pair are expecting to welcome a son, although there has been no official comment from Nadal.

Earlier this year, Nadal had told the press of his wife’s pregnancy, saying: ‘If all goes well, I’m going to be a father.’

The famously private star added: ‘I’m not used to talking about my private life. We live calmer with a lower profile. I don’t expect that my life will change much with it.’

Nadal and Perello married in October 2019 in a lavish ceremony in Majorca after their engagement one year earlier.

The stunning venue – La Fortaleza in 2019 – overlooked the bay of Pollensa in north-east Majorca, which is also the location where Real Madrid star Gareth Bale married Emma Rhys-Jones in 2019.

Nadal previously opened up on the prospect of starting a family with Perello in January 2019 in a chat with Hello! Magazine.

‘Obviously, I have the intention of forming a family,’ he said at the time. ‘I love children and I would like my children to do what they like.’

Perello tends to keep away from the spotlight but, in 2011, spoke about her relationship with Nadal, telling The Telegraph in a rare interview that she doesn’t like to ‘follow’ him everywhere when he’s competing as he ‘needs space.’

‘Travelling together everywhere, even if I could, would not be good either for him or for me.

‘He needs his space when he is competing, and just the idea of me hanging around waiting on his needs all day wears me out. It would asphyxiate me,’ she said.

Reports of the baby’s gender come just days after Nadal played his final tennis match against long-time rival Roger Federer at the Laver Cup, which ended with both players in tears.

Nadal’s reps declined to comment when approached by Metro.co.uk.

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