Amidst backlash, Bartoli announces baby news

Earlier this week, Marion Bartoli suggested ditching doubles play as a solution to provide financial support for lower-ranked singles players.

"I have been to some tournaments with my player and I see doubles players, they have crews, they have six people around them," Bartoli said in an episode of Match Point. "When I used to play, we could not afford to pay to have six people travel with us full time and they can afford to pay six people. And, they just play doubles."

Bartoli would go on to say that doubles players don't make the same effort as a singles players. The 2013 Wimbledon champion's comments were quickly rejected by many including Grand Slam champions like Nicolas Mahut and Gabriela Dabrowski.

"Marion is suggesting to take money away from those who earn on average less than 19 percent of what a singles player makes?" Dabrowski said on social media. "You do realize that doubles players split their earnings after the 19 percent, right?"

Bartoli's commentary triggered backlash, but on Thursday, she responded with surprising news: she and her husband Yahya Boumediene are expecting a baby.

The 35-year-old married professional soccer player Boumediene last November.

Numerous WTA players such as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Dominika Cibulkova offered up warm wishes to the mother-to-be. Cibulkova is expecting the birth of her first child in the next few weeks.