- Barty says motherhood is the hardest thing she's ever done
- Revealed how little Hayden has behaved
- Star retired from the sport after winning three Grand Slams
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Retired Australian tennis champion Ash Barty has opened up about life with her new baby Hayden and the surprising career she plans to continue pursuing.
The 27-year-old sensationally retired from the sport at the height of her powers following her Australian Open win in January 2022.
In July 2023, Barty announced the birth of her first child with husband Garry Kissick on social media — and the six-month-old baby is making quite the impression.
“He (Hayden) has been a very good boy, very kind to me while I'm learning,” Barty said The Sydney Morning Herald while recently performing at a tennis clinic for school children.
Ash Barty (pictured with son Hayden) says motherhood is the hardest thing she's ever done but describes the experience as 'incredible'
The former tennis champion says she's not sure Hayden will like tennis, but she got him a small racket and a rattle in the shape of a ball.
'It's amazing how quickly it's all over, how much my life has changed, but how natural it all feels. It's hard – the hardest thing I've ever done – but it's also incredible.
'A wonderful thing. And it probably helped me appreciate my own mother, and also my two sisters, in the way they raised their own children.”
Barty, who made a rare public appearance with Hayden at the Brisbane International tennis last week, is unsure whether her son will follow in her footsteps.
“I don't know yet,” she said when asked if he liked tennis.
'He's three and a half months old. But he has a little toy racket and a rattle in the shape of a tennis ball.”
Barty has been involved in tennis since her retirement.
In November, she announced she was teaming up with writer Jasmin McGaughey, illustrator Jade Goodwin and publisher HarperCollins to release her new book, “My Dream For You,” in March.
It's a story about a mother's dream to share precious moments with her new baby, like playing in a park and traveling the world.
It comes a year after the star released a series of children's books titled Little Ash following her retirement from the sport.
Ash Barty made a rare public appearance at the Brisbane International tournament with Hayden last Tuesday (pictured)
Barty says helping children at a tennis clinic is the only contact she needs with the sport as she has once again ruled out a comeback (pictured, Hayden with his father Garry Kissick)
The series was the first Australian children's launch of 2022 and has sold more than 100,000 copies since its release.
Barty's memoir has also sold more than 100,000 copies and the former world number one revealed she is keen to write more in what has become a huge career change for her.
“I was terrified at first to be vulnerable, to be yourself, to be open and honest on the page — even to be open to fun — but I love that now,” she said.
Barty also revealed that she will not be making a comeback to tennis like other professional players who have recently had babies.
“A day like today – a court full of schoolchildren, lit-up faces, big smiles, chaos, balls going in all directions and seeing them all hot and sweaty at the end – is definitely more than I need for my tennis session,” she says . said.
'It feels so much more valuable and it feels like a bigger contribution. Other than getting out and getting together with my nieces and nephew and throwing balls at them, this is all I need. This is magic.'