An overjoyed Ash Barty has announced she is to become a mother.
The retired tennis champion will not defend her Australian Open crown this month but continues to draw headlines.
The 26-year-old revealed her baby joy on social media on Friday night.
Barty posted a photo on Instagram of her dog Origi with a pair of baby shoes.
“2023 set to be the best year yet. We are so excited for our new adventure,” Barty wrote in a caption including a baby emoji.
“Origi already the protective big sister.”
Her golf-professional partner Garry Kissick also posted on Instagram a photo of the baby shoes with the dog and a baby-sized Liverpool kit with the caption “Little Red, 2023” and a baby emoji.
The three-time grand-slam champion’s news comes nine months after she shocked the tennis world by quitting the sport seven weeks after ending Australia’s 44-year singles title drought in Melbourne.
