Barty Team Australia BJK Cup

Ashleigh Barty might be disappointing fans by showing no intention of making a comeback to the WTA Tour, but the Australian champ is making up for it with delightful sightings of her son, Hayden.

The former No. 1 brought her nine-month-old baby to watch Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team defeat Mexico in Brisbane Saturday. The two were spotted in a box with Barty’s former doubles partner and close friend Casey Dellacqua, also a retired WTA player.

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Hayden’s ginger hair has grown quite a bit since Barty brought him to the Brisbane International tournament in January.

Barty’s personal history with Billie Jean King Cup ended dramatically in 2019, when France beat Australia 3-2 in Perth in a comeback for the ages. Barty was attempting to put a cherry on her extraordinary year, when she won the French Open and the WTA Finals to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time. Barty beat Caroline Garcia 6-0, 6-0 but fell in a third-set tiebreak to Kristina Mladenovic. Mladenovic and Garcia then beat Barty and Sam Stosur in the deciding doubles rubber to Complete the upset.

Barty shed tears on the podium after falling just short of ending Australia’s Cup drought since 1974. It’s one hole in her Hall of Fame career, which ended when she abruptly retired in 2022 at the age of 25.

Hayden will hear all about it one day. Or perhaps he will read about it. Barty has been publishing children’s books in retirement, including a series about a young athlete named Little Ash and a new release in March titled My Dream for You.

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