Two former Wimbledon winners, Ashleigh Barty and Maria Sharapova, were back at the All England Club on Saturday on the eve of the start of the 2024 Championships -- with their young families in tow.
Sharapova rocketed to international stardom at SW19 20 years ago in the summer of 2004, when she defeated Serena Williams to win the tournament at age 17. It was the first of five Grand Slam titles that Sharapova won in her nearly 20-year career, which came to a close with her retirement from tennis in 2020.
Sharapova was joined on her sojourn around the grounds by fiancé Alexander Gilkes and their soon-to-be 2-year-old son Theodore, who will celebrate his birthday on Monday.
Sharapova brought her boys with her onto Centre Court, and showed her son her name on Wimbledon's famed wall of champions. The toddler also waved in awe at Wimbledon ball kids, and the family caught defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz's practice.
Sharapova also took the time to catch up with Mirra Andreeva, whom the former World No.1 spoke glowingly about earlier this year.
Barty, meanwhile, had her crowning achievement three summers ago. With a three-set victory over Karolina Pliskova in the women's final, Barty became the first Australian woman to win the title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.
The Aussie was back at the club on Saturday for her own family outing with her husband, golfer Garry Kissick, and young son Hayden, born on July 4, 2023.
But there's more involved in Barty's return to Wimbledon than just a family tour.
Barty will reunite with longtime doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in the invitational doubles draw this year and will also commentate the tournament for BBC.
