- Barty says motherhood is the hardest thing she has done
- Has revealed how little Hayden has been behaving
- Star quit the sport after winning three Grand Slams
Retired Aussie tennis champion Ash Barty has opened up on on life with her new baby Hayden and the surprising career that she wants to keep chasing.
The 27-year-old sensationally quit the sport at the peak of her powers following her watershed Australian Open win in January 2022.
In July 2023, Barty took to social media to announce the birth of her first child with husband Garry Kissick – and the six-month-old is making quite an impression.
‘He’s [Hayden] been a very good boy, very kind to me as I’m learning,’ Barty told The Sydney Morning Herald while appearing at a tennis clinic for schoolkids recently.
Ash Barty (pictured with son Hayden) says motherhood is the hardest thing she has done, but describes the experience as ‘incredible’
The former tennis champion says she’s not sure if Hayden will like tennis but she has given him a tiny racquet and a rattle shaped like a ball
‘It’s amazing how quickly it’s all gone, how much my life has changed but how natural it all feels. It’s hard – the hardest thing I’ve ever done – but it’s incredible, too.
‘An amazing thing. And it’s probably helped me appreciate my own mother, and my two sisters as well, in how they’re raising their own children.’
Barty, who made a rare public appearance at the Brisbane International tennis with Hayden last week, is not sure if her son will follow in her footsteps.
‘I don’t know yet,’ she said when asked if he liked tennis.
‘He’s three-and-a-half months old. But he’s got a tiny little toy racquet and a rattle shaped like a tennis ball.’
Barty has kept herself busy since retiring from tennis.
In November, she announced that she will be collaborating with writer Jasmin McGaughey, illustrator Jade Goodwin and publisher HarperCollins to release her new book, ‘My Dream For You’ in March.
It’s a story about a mother’s dream to share precious moments with her new baby, including playing in a park and travelling around the world.
It comes one year after the star released a series of children’s books titled Little Ash following her retirement from the sport.
Ash Barty made a rare public appearance at the Brisbane International tournament with Hayden last Tuesday (pictured)
Barty says helping kids at a tennis clinic is all the contact she needs with the sport as she once again ruled out a comeback (pictured, Hayden with his father Garry Kissick)
The series was the number one Australian children’s launch of 2022, and more than 100,000 copies have been sold since its release.
Barty’s memoir has also sold well over 100,000 copies and the former world number one revealed that she’s keen to write more in what’s become a great career change for her.
‘I was terrified to begin with, to be vulnerable, to be yourself, to be open and honest on the page – even being open to being fun – but I love that now,’ she said.
Barty also revealed that she won’t be making a comeback to tennis like other professional players who have recently had babies.
‘A day like today – a court packed with schoolkids, faces lit up, big smiles, chaos, balls going everywhere, and seeing them all hot and sweaty at the end – is absolutely more than I need for my fix of tennis,’ she said.
‘It feels so much more worthy, and it feels like a greater contribution. Aside from getting out and rallying with my nieces and nephew, throwing balls at them, this is all I need. This is magic.’
