Serena Guthrie, Vitality Roses captain and Team Bath player, has today announced the exciting news that she is expecting her first baby with her partner Bob Kersten.
Listen to Serenas message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2EYfGoA5o8
The news means that she will not be available for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer, nor take to court for Team Bath during their 2022 Vitality Netball Superleague campaign.
Guthrie, 32, has also made the decision to retire from international and elite domestic netball as she looks ahead to a new chapter after an illustrious career on court.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest mid-court players in the game, achieving the first of 110 senior England caps aged just 18, she has since played a pivotal role in three Vitality Netball World Cups (2011, 2015 and 2019) and two Commonwealth Games (2014 and 2018).
She was part of the Vitality Roses squad in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, helping the team secure the record-breaking gold medal against Australia on the Gold Coast, with the iconic victory changing the face of the sport forever in England.
The talismanic player has captained her country 28 times, including during the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool in 2019, delighting fans from across the world of netball with her fearless leadership and dynamic play.
She has played for Vitality Netball Superleague side Team Bath for two separate periods during her career, the first in 2006-07 winning the Superleague title in her very first season with the west country blue and golds. She took a break from UK domestic netball in 2014 to travel to New Zealand to play for the Northern Mystics until 2017 when she moved to Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League to play for Giants Netball for two seasons, returning home to Team Bath in 2019 where she will finish her impressive domestic career.
Serena was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to netball.
She shared her happy news with the Vitality Roses and Team Bath squads and staff earlier this week and will continue to be supported by medical staff and performance teams in the coming months as she prepares for her next chapter.
Serena Guthrie, MBE, Vitality Roses and Team Bath legend, said: “Bob and I are thrilled to be expecting our first child together. Being a mum is an amazing new chapter in my life and I’m really excited about what that’s going to bring to me.
