Ashleigh Barty carries son Hayden in a sling; shares picture of the baby with a bucket hat on

Ashleigh Barty has shared a picture of herself carrying her son Hayden, who donned an adorable bucket hat.

Barty and her husband, professional Australian golfer Garry Kissick, have been together since 2017. The couple announced their engagement in November 2021 and got married in July 2022, just three months after Barty's retirement. They announced the birth of their son Hayden in July 2023.

Ashleigh Barty recently took to social media to share a picture of herself cradling her son in a baby sling. The little one, wearing a grey-colored bicycle-printed bucket hat, looked peacefully asleep in the photo.

Barty added a monkey and a white heart emoji in the photo, while also tagging her husband Kissick.

Ashleigh Barty's Instagram story

"I don’t have the time" - Ashleigh Barty quashes possibilities of tennis comeback after becoming a mother

Ashleigh Barty speaking to the press

Last month, Ashleigh Barty returned to the tennis court and joined former Australian Grand Slam champion Pat Rafter to commemorate the highly anticipated return of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in 2024.

During the ceremony, Barty talked about the possibility of her on-court comeback following her retirement from the sport in March 2022. She expressed her current inability to dedicate time to training and preparing herself physically for the demanding challenges of the pro life.

Despite cherishing the memories she made during her tennis career, the three-time Grand Slam singles champion stated that her focus now lay in forging fresh experiences alongside her son Hayden.

The former World No. 1 playfully quipped that Pat Rafter, a former two-time US Open champion, stood a higher chance of picking up the racket than she did.

"I don’t have the time. I don’t have the time to train, I don’t have the time to prepare, & I have so many great memories out on this court, & now I just get to create new memories. I’m certainly not coming out of retirement. Pat may be more likely, than me," Barty said

The WTA Brisbane International was last played in 2020, where Karolina Pliskova emerged as the champion in the WTA 500 tournament. The previous ATP edition of the tournament took place in 2019, with Kei Nishikori claiming the title.

The upcoming tournament (WTA 500 and ATP 250) is scheduled to take place from December 31, 2023, to January 7, 2024. The event will feature a remarkable prize pool of AU$ 3.1 million.