How Ash Barty met her ‘cheeky’ husband Garry Kissick

It’s been less than a year since the world learned Ash Barty and Garry Kissick were married and now there’s more happy news – they’re expecting their first child!

The retired tennis superstar and the golfer announced Barty was pregnant on January 6, 2023 with a cute post to Instagram featuring their pet dog and a pair of baby shoes.

“2023 set to be the best year yet,” the caption began. “We are so excited for our new adventure. Origi already the protective big sister.”

Kissick shared a similar snap on social media, with Origi also alongside a little jersey.

“Little Red, 2023,” the father-to-be excitedly captioned his photo.

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The couple had appeared together at the Newcombe Medal in Melbourne just three weeks prior but Barty’s black gown hid any signs of a baby bump.

She also chose a flowing pink frock when she stepped out for the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Celebration on December 15 and posed with her hands in front of her stomach.

To celebrate the news, let’s look back at how Barty and Kissick’s love story began.

How a tennis pro fell in love with a golf fanatic

Back in 2016, just two years after her return to tennis, Barty arrived at the Brookwater Gold & Country Club in Queensland, keen to play a round of golf.

Kissick, 30, is a PGA trainee golf professional who works at the club, and so the pair met incidentally while Barty tried her luck on the greens.

While it was certainly a fluke meeting, sparks flew, and they quickly started spending more time together. What’s more, Garry’s workplace was only a 20-minute drive from Barty’s home in Ipswich.

With Barty constantly in the spotlight, the pair chose to keep their relationship low profile, but eventually went public in 2017.

Above is one of the first couple photos Garry and Barty ever shared. Hilariously, on Garry’s account, most of his friends assumed it was just a fan photo.

The pair snapped a selfie while watching Brisbane verse Adelaide in the A-league in October, 2017.

One of Kissick’s friends commented, “Stop it!” of his seemingly ‘chance’ meeting with Barty, while another wrote, “I went to school with her in grade 3.”

A month later, they debuted their relationship while walking the red carpet at the 2017 John Newcombe Awards, where Barty received the Newcombe Medal, which is considered Australian tennis’ highest honour.

Slowly the pair made their relationship more public, and fans came to learn that Kissick might just be stealing the heart of their favourite tennis player.

On Kissick’s birthday in 2018, Barty shared a sweet selfie, and an even sweeter caption dedicated to him.

“Wishing the happiest of birthdays to this handsome boy,” she wrote. “Thank you for being your cheeky and caring self every single day.”

Adjusting to the tour life

Barty has since spoken out about her love for Kissick, revealing in a January interview with Vogue that he truly is at the centre of her world.

“He’s extremely patient with me, and when we met he didn’t know a lot about tennis,” she said.

She admitted that because of this, Kissick was “completely thrown in the deep end” when they started dating. That being said, it seems the golf-lover has embraced the journey with gusto and a lot of fun.

“He’s the best person to have around in the sense of switching off from tennis and being able to bring the fun and laughter when we are training and not be so serious all the time … I certainly wouldn’t want to share this journey with anyone else.”

In the same interview, Barty revealed that, like most couples, a mandatory two-week quarantine period threw some challenges at them.

Upon Barty’s massive win at Wimbledon in July 2021, Kissick immediately took to Instagram to celebrate her.

“So grateful to be a part of your journey so far and proud of everything you’ve achieved here at Wimbledon. Living out your dreams!” the proud athlete wrote.

Future husband (and wife)

After mastering the courts at Wimbledon and performing impeccably at various other matches in 2021, Barty and Kissick returnined to Australia in September 2021 and were forced to isolate together.

“It’s a test of your relationship, being with each other for two weeks straight,” Barty confessed later.

“Some days it was good where we had each other and other days you go, ‘Maybe it’s easier to get through this alone.'”

Fortunately, their stint in isolation was over quickly and Kissick even proposed just a few weeks later, cementing their love.

The couple announced their engagement on November 23, one week after he popped the question, with Barty showing off her ring in a loved-up snap captioned “future husband”.

But they’d face another big milestone before they actually said “I do”.

Farewell to tennis

When Barty announced her retirement from tennis in March 2022, the world number one was supported by one very important person: Kissick.

After sharing her bombshell interview with first-ever doubles partner and former Australian tennis number one Casey Dellacqua, the video was picked up and shared by Kissick, along with a series of love hearts.

In her retirement video (watch it below), and in many other close conversations, Barty has always forefronted the idea of being the best version of herself.

Now she’s achieved that with tennis, she’s told the world she’s ready to start chasing some new dreams.

As she said many of these new adventures aren’t so isolating as a professional tennis career.

“I have so many dreams that don’t involve travelling the world, being away from my home, being away from my family,” Barty revealed.

WATCH: Tennis world number one Ash Barty to retire from the sport

Speaking of family, her focus turned to her relationship with Kissick and the family they may start together one day after stepping away from tennis.

A secret wedding

Just a few months after announcing her shock retirement, Barty had more big news to share with fans; she and Kissick had tied the knot!

They wed in secret in July, 2022 and shared a photo from their wedding on Instagram with the caption “husband and wife” on July 30.

The 26-year-old bride tagged Australian bridal designer Suzanne Harward, who created her unique halter-neck gown, in photos from the Gold Coast ceremony.

Less than a year later, they had another thrilling update – Barty was pregnant with their first child together.

As with all their milestones, the couple shared the news on social media where they couldn’t hold back their excitement about becoming parents, with the baby due in 2023.

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