Chris Evert: "You just know Ashleigh Barty is going to be a great mum"
Ashleigh Barty and her husband Garry Kissick recently welcomed their first child, with Kissick announcing this beautiful news earlier this month through an Instagram post.
Barty and Garry Kissick announced their engagement in November 2021. They tied the knot in July 2022, only a few months after Barty shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement at the age of just 26. She announced her pregnancy in January this year, following which they welcomed their firstborn - a baby boy named Hayden - on July 4.
Former World No. 1 Chris Evert has now responded to the same, backing the Aussie to be a wonderful mother.
“You just know Ashleigh Barty is going to be a great mum,” Evert tweeted..
you just know @ashbarty is going to be a great mum..❤️❤️❤️
The 68-year-old tennis icon, with 18 Grand Slams to her name, is also a wonderful mother of three sons.
Meanwhile, The Aussie hung up her racquet with three Grand Slam titles to her name. The 27-year-old acquired the World No. 1 title only a few weeks after triumphing at the 2019 French Open and held the spot for a total of 121 weeks before her eventual retirement last year.
Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka also congratulated Ashleigh Barty on becoming a mother
Meanwhile, former World No. 2 Ons Jabuer remains optimistic that Ashleigh Barty will return to court gradually, following in the footsteps of Caroline Wozniacki. At the same time, the Tunisian was ecstatic about the former World No. 1 becoming a mother, stating that she was very happy for her colleague.
“I hope that she will change her mind like [Caroline] Wozniacki and comes back maybe in one or two years,” Jabeur said in her recent press conference at Wimbledon. "Fantastic. I'm very happy for her that she had a baby boy. I'm very happy for her because this is something that I want to have, a family," she added.
Aryna Sabalenka also congratulated Barty during her time at Wimbledon, remarking that she really missed the three-time Grand Slam champion while also noting that she respected her decision to hang up her racquet when she did.
"I mean, I'm super happy for her. I wish her all the best in her new chapter of her life. Having a baby, that's really amazing. I think she's really enjoying it. Super happy for her," Sabalenka said.
"I don't know. I really miss Ashleigh on tour. I really enjoyed our matches against each other, all our battles. It was always nice to play against her. But, yeah, she made her decision, and I really respect it. I wish her all the best in her new life," she added.