After becoming an Aussie tennis icon, then retiring from the sport just two months after winning the Australian Open, Ash Barty has surprised the nation again – this time by wedding long-term love Garry Kissick in secret.
She announced the exciting news with a single post on Instagram on July 30, 2022, sharing a photo of her and her new husband on their wedding day in Queensland.
“Husband & Wife,” she captioned the beaming wedding day photo.
It’s understood the ceremony took place earlier that month, with Ash choosing to enjoy a few weeks of wedded bliss before sharing the news with the world.
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She calls him her “handsome boy” and he calls her “baby”, and together tennis star Ash and husband Garry are the envy of the tennis circuit because of the power of their love.
The couple announced their engagement on November 23 2021, after Garry popped the question a week earlier and Ash said “yes”.
Showing off her ring and her man of more than four years on Instagram, Ash captioned the joyful photo “future husband” and we couldn’t be happier for her.
But this isn’t the first time she and Garry have proven their love for each other in the sweetest ways.
In fact, when Ash famously won the Roland Garros in 2019, an over-the-moon Garry posted a loving message on Instagram as he jumped on a plane to fly to England to celebrate.
“Amazing! The puppies [Affie and Chino] and I are so proud of you baby! Many more to come,” he posted after her amazing straight sets victory over Czech player Marketa Vondrousova in the French Open.
The win rocketed her to number two in the world and also made Ash the first female winner of the Grand Slam tournament since Margaret Court in 1973.
After a brief hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ash, now the world Number One, had Garry cheering her on at Wimbledon 2021.
The Aussie tennis champ wowed with her performance in matches against the likes of French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, but was surprised when a Wimbeldon post-match press conference turned to her love life.
Speaking with reporters about her win, one commented to Ash: “You’re looking more relaxed — Garry’s here.”
Ash cracked a smile and laughed before opening up on what it’s like having her man supporting her at Wimbledon this year, saying “it was always the plan to have Garry over here for this part of the trip.”
The pair met while playing a round of golf and instantly clicked.
(Image: Instagram)The Aussie added that Garry generally tries to make it to her UK matches, and boy was she glad he made it to Wimbledon – because Ash won!
She became the 2021 Wimbledon ladies’ champion after overcoming Karolina Pliskova in three sets and Garry would have been cheering her name the whole way.
There’s no doubt that having Garry by her side for the historic win would have made it so much sweeter for Ash, as the couple were been separated for much of 2021 by the coronavirus pandemic.
Thankfully they were able to reunite at Wimbledon, Garry sharing a cute snap with Ash when the tournament kicked off in June 2021. It was a recreation of a similar photo they took in 2019.
Ash Barty and Garry Kissick posed together before the Wimbledon tournament kicked off.
(Image: Instagram)Ash, 25, met Garry, 30, a PGA trainee professional golfer, at Brooklands Golf Club in Queensland, in 2016 when she was playing a round of golf, and the pair instantly clicked, and have been quietly dating ever since.
Friends say the unassuming and ruggedly handsome golfer, who Ash calls her “cheeky and caring handsome boy”, is a big part of her success because together they have created a home filled with love.
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Normal couple
When they went public with their love in January 2017, a smitten Garry happily wore his heart on his sleeve, declaring his girlfriend “my baby” and insisting Ash was “the best person I’ve ever met”.
“They’re really the most normal couple you’ll find at that level in tennis,” says one insider of the loved-up duo.
“It’s refreshing because you often see mismatched liaisons in this sport, with some partners unable to cope with the public attention always focused on the person they love and not on them.
Garry and Ash have been dating since 2016 and went public in 2017.
(Image: Instagram)“But Ash and Garry support each other as equals in a down-to-earth way – neither of them want to be ‘the star’. It’s funny to watch Ash practising at the big tournaments with her coach and see Garry pop up as the ball boy.
“He’ll skip back and forth, helping out between their rallies, encouraging her but also making the mood lighter by passing on cricket scores or cracking jokes.
“He’s a sunny, positive person much like Ash, an all-round good guy who makes her smile the whole time. They are both the nicest people you could ever meet, both hugely popular, and together they have something really beautiful going.
“Without even meaning to, Garry helps Ash play her very best tennis, because there’s certainly no pressure from him.”
“They are both the nicest people you could ever meet.”
(Image: Instagram)Best decision ever!
As a child prodigy who learned to play at four and won Junior Wimbledon at 15, Ash knows all about pressure – and at 16 she shocked the tennis world by hanging up her racquet.
She hated the stress involved in trying to win matches and the desperate loneliness of the tour, and was open about her desire to experience normal life for a while and play professional cricket for fun instead.
“It’s a part of my life I needed to deal with and I feel like it was the best decision I ever made,” she said after her historic win. “It was an even better one coming back!”
WATCH: Ash Barty’s on-court interview at the 2019 Sydney International. Post continues after video…
‘Evonne’s my hero!’
Ash happily admits if it wasn’t for two-time Wimbledon champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley, she may never have even picked up a racquet, let alone achieved such greatness in following in Evonne’s footsteps.
“Evonne has inspired me on and off the court since I was a young girl,” Barty said. “Evonne’s outstanding achievements and her passion for helping the Indigenous community are two things I admire.”
It was Evonne who encouraged Ash, who is a proud Ngaragu woman from southern NSW and north-eastern Victoria, to take a break from the tennis circuit after she felt burnt out as a teen – and it was Evonne who encouraged her comeback.
Ash spoke about Evonne at an International Women’s Day event.
(Image: Getty)They’ve become parents!
Ash Barty and Garry announced the birth of her baby boy in July 2023.
Barty shared the announcement to Instagram, writing, “Our beautiful boy ❤️ Welcome to the world, Hayden!”
Ash Barty and her husband, Garry’s baby boy Hayden.
(Credit: Instagram)