Only hours have passed since Ash Barty welcomed the birth of her first child but one of her former rivals is hoping she will come out of retirement in the future.
Ons Jabeur believes the former world No.1 could follow the example set by the likes of Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka by balancing motherhood with life as a professional athlete. Recently Caroline Wozniacki, who is a mother of two children, announced that she will be returning to the Tour this summer at the age of 32 which is five years older than Barty.
“I’m very happy for her that she had a baby boy. I’m very happy for her because this is something that I want to have, a family,” Jabeur said after defeating Magda Frech in the first round of Wimbledon.
“I’m sure she’s enjoying being a mom right now than being on a tennis court waiting to play at Wimbledon. I hope that she will change her mind like Wozniacki and come back maybe in one or two years.”
Barty stunned the Tour last year when she unexpectedly announced her retirement after capturing the Australian Open title for the first time in her career. Last November, she played down suggestions of a future comeback by saying she was ‘done’ during an event to mark the launch of her autobiography.
However, Jabeur is staying optimistic about the prospect. Barty is one of only three women from her country to have won the Wimbledon title after defeating Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 final. Overall, she has won 15 WTA titles with three of those being at Grand Slams.
“That’s a long time (ago),” Jabeur commented on Barty’s Wimbledon triumph. “I still hope that she will change her mind and come back.”
Jabeur, who is known as the minister of happiness among her fans, also paid tribute to another player during her press conference at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Anett Kontaveit was meant to start the final tournament of her career today before her match got canceled due to rain. The Estonian is stepping away from the sport due to a chronic back problem which is affecting her ability to compete in the sport.
“I’ve been waiting for Anett’s match. I believe the weather is sad that she’s leaving, so they don’t want her to play,” she joked.
“I honestly tried to convince her not to (retire) but it didn’t work out.’
“It’s also nice to see that someone knows what they’re doing, and she knows exactly that she wants to retire and move on.”
2022 runner-up Jabeur is playing in her sixth Wimbledon main draw.
