Kim Clijsters: Why tennis great who made a comeback after becoming a mum is convinced Ash Barty should follow in her footsteps

Ash Barty’s long-awaited return to Wimbledon, where he will compete in a special tournament for legends, has been postponed due to persistent rain.

But the retired 2021 champion’s comeback in the purely recreational event hasn’t stopped former great Kim Clijsters, following her successful comeback after becoming a mother, from wondering whether the 28-year-old Australian star would still be tempted to do the same.

Bad weather forced the postponement of Barty’s planned return to the show court with her best friend Casey Dellacqua against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova on Tuesday.

But that didn’t stop her former stars from raving about the champion’s return, her first return to the court since announcing her surprise retirement from the sport two years ago in March when she was ranked number one in the world.

Barty returned to SW19 as the mother of one-year-old Hayden, and was quick to stress that accepting this invitation was a one-off pleasure and not the prelude to a real comeback in competition.

But fellow ‘legend’ Clijsters, another former world No. 1 who felt the same way after becoming a mother and making a stunning comeback with a Grand Slam win, wonders whether Barty will also be getting the taste for competing again, as Caroline Wozniacki, another former world No. 1 and mother of two, did last year.

“It sounds very much the same to me as it did many years ago,” Clijsters said.

“First of all, I’m glad she’s back. I’ve never played Ash before, but I’ve practiced against her before, so it’s exciting that she’s on the Legends Tour.

Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters (pictured) took an extended break from the sport when she became a mother, but returned to win two consecutive US Open titles

Clijsters hopes the return to Wimbledon will ‘trigger’ Barty (pictured winning the women’s title in 2021)

“A few years ago I was the youngest legend out there, but I’m definitely not anymore. It’s cool – and who knows? Last year, when we saw Caroline Wozniacki practicing between our legends matches, we were all like, ‘What are you doing? Why are you training so much?’

“There’s definitely a part of me that hopes she’s moved by the challenge and the adventure of getting back on tour with her family.

“It will be interesting. I don’t know if she’ll be up for it. I hope I get to play against her and have a chat.”

Her best friend Dellacqua said that, in addition to her duties as a commentator for the BBC, Barty looked good on the field.

“She’s playing really well, feeling good, excited and she’s a busy girl this week. She’s hitting the ball really well.

‘There’s no doubt about it, if she wanted to, at 28, if she worked hard, trained hard and played hard, she could 100 percent be back at the top. Absolutely – but she’s really happy.’