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 little boy at a private clinic in Mallorca’s capital Palma on Saturday morning. Diary de Mallorcahas claimed.

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

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

MailOnline has contacted Rafael’s representatives for comment.

Last month, Hi! revealed that the 17-year-old couple were reportedly expecting a son, having only broken the news of Mery’s pregnancy in June following weeks of speculation.

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

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

There has been no official comment from Rafael or his wife, who dated for 14 years before tying the knot in October 2019 at a British-owned fortress in Majorca, to reports that they are expecting a boy.

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

It emerged at the end of August that she had been admitted to a private clinic in Mallorca’s 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.

But Rafael’s sister Maribel Nadal said on Tuesday that 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 his wife Mery is expecting their first child at a press conference in Mallorca in June following rumors of her pregnancy.

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

‘I’m not used to talking about my private life. We live more calmly with a lower profile. I don’t expect my life to change much with it.’

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

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

There has been intense speculation that Rafael’s childhood sweetheart was waiting after she started wearing looser clothes and donning 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 of the Rafael Nadal Foundation, the charity he founded more than ten years ago.

She is known as an incredibly private person. The property the Spanish couple chose to marry, La Fortaleza overlooking Pollensa Bay in north-east Mallorca, was where Real Madrid star Gareth Bale joined Emma Rhys-Jones in June 2019 as part of a three-day celebration.

The couple, who had already been dating for 14 years before they tied the knot, 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 who attended the wedding, as he is a long-time 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 designer Rosa Clará.

Proving to be a highly sought-after 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 Mallorca, La Fortaleza was bought by Lord Lupton in 2011 for £30m, despite the original asking price of £75m.

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

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

Hello sister publication HOLA! revealed that the Spanish athlete proposed to Mery in May 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 employee with a vocational education.

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

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

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

“But I also tell you that the reality is that the years keep going, I want to start doing all this when my sports life dictates it.”

He told Essentially Sports in late 2018: ‘I also have a girlfriend and I’m not alone in making decisions. (sic)

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

Known to be an incredibly private person, Mery also opened up about her relationship with the tennis champion back in 2011.

She told The Telegraph in a rare interview: ‘To travel together everywhere, even if I could, wouldn’t be good for him or me.

‘He needs his space when he’s competing and just the thought of me hanging around waiting for his needs all day wears me out. It would suffocate me.

“And then he’d be worried about me… No. If I followed him everywhere, I think there’s a risk we’ll stop getting together.”