Retired tennis champion Ash Barty will not defend her Australian Open crown this month but continues to draw headlines, announcing she is about to become a mum.

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.

Tweet from @AustralianOpen

“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 soccer 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.

-AAP