Ash Barty has been noticed with a child bump for the primary time since her being pregnant announcement final week.
The three-time Grand Slam winner was seen taking her canine, affectionately nicknamed the ‘wolf pack’ by her and her companion, for a stroll close to her Ipswich dwelling.
Barty shocked the tennis world in March final 12 months when she introduced her retirement from the game after successful the Australian Open, aged 25.
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At the time, she stated it was right down to not having the “physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level anymore”.
Barty had sat on the prime of the WTA rankings for 114 weeks previous her retirement, after changing into the primary Australian to win their dwelling Slam in singles since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Since retirement, nonetheless, she has not sat on her heels, being named the NAIDOC 2022 particular person of the 12 months, launched a line of kids’s books known as Little Ash, and married her longtime companion in golf skilled Garry Kissick.
She was additionally given the Officer of the Order of Australia for providers to tennis, and launched a memoir, entitled My Dream Time.
While she received’t be on courtroom defending her title at this 12 months’s Australian Open, she can be returning to Melbourne Park as a mentor to Gold Coast younger gun Olivia Gadecki, at the moment ranked two hundredth within the WTA rankings.
The former nationwide junior champion was knocked out in straight units by China’s Xinyu Wang within the first spherical of the Hobart International earlier this week, 6-4, 7-5.
“I’ve been really fortunate to always be able to contact her if I have any questions or if I need advice, she’s always been there for me,” Galecki stated.