Rafael Nadal’s wife ‘gives birth’! Mery Perello ‘welcomes a baby boy with the tennis player’

Rafael Nadal has reportedly become a father for the first time.

The 36-year-old tennis player’s wife Mery Perello, 34, gave birth to a baby boy in a private clinic in Mallorca’s capital of Palma on Saturday morning, Spanish newspaper, Diario de Mallorca, has claimed.

A source told the publication: ‘Both the mum and her baby, born in the 37th week of her pregnancy, are doing well.

Rafael Nadal’s wife has ‘given birth’! Mery Perello ‘welcomed a baby boy with the tennis player’ in a Palma hospital on Saturday morning 

‘The birth took place in a private clinic on the island where Mery had to remain under observation and rest completely in the last few weeks.’

MailOnline has contacted Rafael’s representatives for comment. 

Last month, Hola! alleged the couple of 17 years were expecting a son, having first broken the news of Mery’s pregnancy in June after weeks of speculation.

The Spanish tennis ace then confirmed the news that his wife was pregnant at a press conference in Mallorca later in the same week.

Baby news: Last month, Hola! alleged the couple of 17 years were expecting a son, having first broken the news of Mery’s pregnancy in June after weeks of speculation (pictured in June 2022)

It has sparked speculation that the couple could call their son Sebastia, Sebastian in English, as it is the name of Rafael’s father and great-grandfather.

There has not been any official comment from Rafael or his wife, who dated for 14 years before they tied the knot in October 2019 at a British-owned fortress in Majorca, to reports they are expecting a boy. 

Former insurance worker Mery’s health has been the focus of Spanish press in recent weeks, which intensified after Nadal’s withdrawal from the Laver Cup for ‘personal reasons’ after he helped the world of tennis bid farewell to retiring star Roger Federer.

It emerged at the end of August she had been admitted to a private clinic in the Majorcan capital Palma as she entered the 31st week of her pregnancy.

Reports at the time said doctors had decided to monitor her as a precaution.

Big news: He told the press conference, ‘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’

But Rafael’s sister Maribel Nadal said on Tuesday Mery was doing ‘very well’ as she left a ceremony in Madrid attended by Spain’s Queen Letizia where she represented the Rafa Nadal Foundation.

It comes after Rafael announced that his wife Mery is expecting their first child at a press conference in Mallorca in June following rumours of her pregnancy.

Rafael told reporters: ‘If all goes well, I’m going to be a father.’

‘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.’

It was reported earlier in June in the Spanish tabloids that Mery was pregnant with their first baby, according to magazine Hola!.

Romance: The couple (pictured in February 2018), who had been dating 14 years before they wed, were married on Spanish estate La Fortaleza in 2019

The beauty was sporting what appeared to be a baby bump under her swimsuit on board the yacht where she and Nadal are enjoying a holiday.

There has been intense speculation Rafael’s childhood sweetheart was expecting after she started wearing more loose-fitting clothes and donned a face mask at the recent Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Mery, also known as Xisca, gave up a job in insurance to become project director for the Rafael Nadal Foundation, the charity he founded more than ten years ago. 

She is well-known as an incredibly private person. The estate the Spanish couple picked to marry, La Fortaleza overlooking the bay of Pollensa in north-east Majorca, was where Real Madrid star Gareth Bale tied the knot with Emma Rhys-Jones in June 2019 as part of a three-day celebration. 

The couple, who had already been dating 14 years before they wed, were married by priest Tomeu Catala in front of 350 guests at the stunning fortress, owned by Conservative party donor Lord Lupton.

Juan Carlos I, the king of Spain from 1975 to 2014, was among those in attendance at the wedding as he is a longstanding friend of the tennis ace.

At the ceremony, Rafael looked dapper in a navy tailored suit and white shirt, while Mery wore a long-sleeved gown designed by acclaimed bridal wear designer Rosa Clará.

Proving to be quite a highly sought out A-list destination, La Fortaleza is also where the acclaimed BBC thriller The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman, was filmed. 

Overlooking the bay of Pollensa in north-east Majorca, La Fortaleza was bought by Lord Lupton in 2011 for £30million, despite the original £75million asking price.

The original fort, which is now Spain’s most expensive property, was built in 1628 to defend Majorca against invaders.

Practice: Nadal worked up a sweat on Friday as he took part in a training session at Santa Ponsa Country Club in Mallorca

Rafael revealed in January 2019 that he was engaged to his long-term girlfriend Mery following a 14 year courtship.

Hello’s sister publication HOLA! revealed that Spanish athlete proposed to Mery in May of 2018 during a romantic trip to Rome.

However, they reported that the couple decided to keep the happy news private for the first eight months of their engagement.

Mery, born Maria Francisca Perello, is an insurance worker and business graduate.

And Rafael has previously made no secret of his desire to have children, saying he is a ‘family guy’ and is looking forward to having his own brood in the not too distant future.

But the dedicated sportsman admitted his tennis career had made it difficult to think about starting a family in the past.

He said: ‘I would love to have children, boys, girls… I’m a person who loves kids and I’m a family guy.

‘But also I tell you that the reality is, the years keep passing, I would like to start to do all of this when my sporting life determines it.’

He told Essentially Sports, at the end of 2018: ‘I have a girlfriend too and I am not alone to take decisions.(sic)

Family: Rafael (pictured in 2015) has previously made no secret of his desire to have children, saying he is a ‘family guy’ and is looking forward to having his own brood

‘You have to suit situations you know. Having family? I don’t know, things are not easy to be predicted. At this age, I thought that I would have already been a former player and that I would have started a family.’

Mery, who is well-known as an incredibly private person, also spoke about her relationship with the tennis champ back in 2011.

She told The Telegraph in a rare interview: ‘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.

‘And then he would have to be worrying about me … No. If I followed him everywhere, I think there’s a risk we might stop getting along.’

Tennis star: Rafael is currently ranked world number three in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals