Tennis champion Ash Barty announces birth of ‘beautiful boy’

Nearly 18 months after she shocked the world by retiring from tennis, Ash Barty has delighted fans by announcing the birth of her first child.

Australian tennis champion Ash Barty has announced the birth of her first child, a “beautiful boy” named Hayden.

Barty and her husband Garry Kissick revealed the exciting news in a joint Instagram post on Tuesday night.

The proud new parents posted: “Our beautiful boy️. Welcome to the world, Hayden!”

Barty, 26, announced her pregnancy in January and her fans and followers were delighted to see she had welcomed her first child.

Ash Barty's beautiful baby boy. Photo: Instagram.

What delightful news for the Aussie legend. Picture: Lachie Millard

Matildas captain Sam Kerr commented: “Congrats.”

Barty’s former doubles partner Storm Hunter posted love eyes emojis, while the Wimbledon and Australian Open accounts offered their well wishes.

Mindfulness guru Ben Crowe, who helped Barty during her tennis career, commented: “Another miracle.”

Barty met Kissick, a golf pro, at a golf club in Brisbane and the rest is history. They got married in January last year.

The three-time grand slam champion retired from professional tennis in March last year in a decision that shocked the sporting world given she had just won the Australian Open.

The heartwarming news comes two nears after Barty’s droughtbreaking Wimbledon title in 2021.

Ash Barty is now a mum. (Photo by Aaron FRANCIS / AFP)

Ash Barty with husband Garry Kissick. Photo: Instagram.

Once she retired, Barty revealed she began to lack motivation after claiming victory at the All England Club, which was on the top of her career bucket list.

Barty won the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon and 2022 Australian Open to join an exclusive club of players to have won grand slams on all three surfaces.

Tennis fans might have felt robbed of another 10 Barty grand slam wins, but the Queenslander said she had achieved everything she wanted to in the sport and had nothing more to give.

Since hanging up her racquet, Barty has been busy trying her hand at all manner of things.

She contested an event on the ICONS Golf circuit, has published her tennis memoir, a children’s book, and has been hired by telco Optus as their Chief of Inspiration.

Many tennis greats including Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka have made successful returns to the tennis tour after becoming a mum, but Barty has said she has no such plans to make a comeback.

Barty’s major project has involved working closely with Indigenous Australian communities, which she wants to be her lasting legacy.