Ash Barty has announced she and husband Garry Kissick are expecting their first baby together. The retired Aussie tennis champion took to Instagram on Friday night to reveal the beautiful news.
Barty posted a photo of one of her dogs alongside some baby shoes, writing: “2023 set to be the best year yet. We are so excited for our new adventure. Origi already the protective big sister”.
Kissick, who is a huge Liverpool fan, shared the news. He wrote: “Little Red, 2023”.
Barty shocked the tennis world last March when she announced her retirement from tennis at age 25. In July she and Kissick got married in a private ceremony in Queensland.
Congratulations have been flowing in from around the tennis world over the wonderful news. Retired star and Channel 9 commentator Jelena Dokic posted: “Congratulations Ash, so happy for you”.
Aussie star Maddison Inglis wrote: “omg congrats!!!!”, while Caroline Wozniacki, Caroline Garcia, Johanna Konta, Kiki Bertens and Casey Dellacqua all sent their well-wishes as well.
Speaking to the New York Times recently, Barty opened up on her life since retirement. The 26-year-old said she was ‘surprised’ at how comfortable she felt since the bombshell decision.
“To be honest, I think what has surprised me most is how comfortable I’ve been,” she said. “I think there was probably a normal fear or uncertainty in not knowing what my life would look like after tennis after being so focused.
“I was a bit unsure how I would deal with that because I am a person who likes to be organised. There was probably a little bit of fear in that, but overall, that hasn’t been an issue, a concern or a worry.
“What’s been surprising in a good way is that I’ve slipped quite seamlessly into this life that’s just like everyone else. Which is kind of always what I wanted.”
