Ashleigh Barty returns to tennis court for first time since becoming a mother, accompanied by newborn baby with miniature racquet

Former World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty was joined by her newborn baby as she made a return to the tennis court for the first time since becoming a mother.

Barty welcomed her first child, a baby boy named Hayden, with her husband and Australian professional golfer Garry Kissick on Jul. 4. The couple have been together since 2017. They announced their engagement in Nov. 2021 and tied the knot in July last year. Barty announced that they were expecting their first child together in Jan. this year.

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Barty returned to the tennis court and worked on her groundstrokes while spending quality time with her family. The former World No. 1 was accompanied by her newborn son, who was dressed for the occasion in a tennis-themed onesie and equipped with a miniature racquet.

The 27-year-old shared a glimpse into her time on the court on social media and humorously mentioned that her son was more interested in taking a nap than watching her play.

"Back to red ball 🤨 Coaches seemed happy enough 👌🏽 Spectator just enjoyed a snooze in the shade 💚💜," she captioned her Instagram post.

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

Ashleigh Barty announced her retirement from professional tennis in March 2022. She recently attended a ceremony to commemorate the return of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in 2024 and addressed the possibility of her return to the professional circuit.

The 27-year-old, who was joined by two-time Grand Slam champion Pat Rafter, dismissed chances of a comeback to the tour, explaining her inability to devote time to the extensive training required to meet the demands of professional tennis.

While the Australian expressed fondness over her experiences on tour, she said that her focus has shifted towards building new memories with her husband Garry Kissick and their newborn son, Hayden.

Barty also joked that Pat Rafter had a better chance of coming out of retirement than her.

"I don’t have the time. I don’t have the time to train. I don’t have the time to prepare, and I have so many great memories out on this court, and 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.

Ashleigh Barty secured three Grand Slam singles titles, winning the French Open in 2019, Wimbledon Championships in 2021 and Australian Open in 2022.

She also won the US Open women's doubles title in 2018 alongside partner CoCo Vandeweghe. Furthermore, the Australian held the World No. 1 ranking for 121 weeks, ranking her seventh in the all-time list.