Rafael Nadal becomes father to baby boy, welcomes firstborn with wife Maria Francisca Perello

Rafael Nadal and his wife Maria Francisca Perello have welcomed their first child into the world today, according to reports emerging from Spain. As reported by Radio Marca, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's wife has given birth to a baby boy, delighting tennis fans world over.

The Mallorcan's wife's pregnancy situation has been a slightly complicated affair, with Francisca Perello having to be admitted to the hospital earlier due to minor complications. Thankfully, it was attended to in time, and the couple have now been blessed with some much-needed happy news.

Confirmation from the Nadal camp is still pending, and the name of the boy is also yet to be known at this point. Regardless, the 36-year-old will be glad that the situation solved itself amicably, considering that he admitted to sleepless nights earlier due to stress from the same.

I'm not okay, I'm not okay. The truth is that they have been difficult weeks in that sense," Nadal said. "Little, very little, few hours of sleep, a little stress in general, situations a little more complicated than usual at home. Which, well, I've had to deal with all of that, which is a different pressure than what you're used to in professional life."

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Now that his wife's pregnancy has been resolved, it will be interesting to see how Rafael Nadal sorts his calendar out for the rest of the year. As things stand at the moment, the Spaniard is expected to play at the Paris Masters and the ATP Tour Finals, as well as exhibition matches across Mexico and South America.

Whether the 22-time Grand Slam champion will stick to them in light of his newfound fatherhood remains to be seen. If he does choose to play the rest of the year, the 36-year-old has a shot at finishing the season as the World No. 1 event, replacing compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings.

The World No. 2 has no points to defend for the rest of the year, while Alcaraz has 200 points at stake from the Vienna Open and the Paris Masters. At the same time, the Spaniard is also playing at the ATP 500 Swiss Indoors, giving him a chance to earn additional points when compared to the 36-year-old.

The last time Nadal finished the season as World No. 1 was in 2019 and doing so again this season will record his sixth time ending the season as the top-ranked ATP player.