Tennis-Barty to mentor local wildcard Gadecki at Australian Open

FILE PHOTO: Golf - 150th Open Championship - St Andrews, Scotland, Britain - July 10, 2022 Former tennis player Ash Barty in action during a celebrity fourball REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

(Reuters) - Retired Australian Open champion Ash Barty is returning to Melbourne Park for this year's event to mentor local hope Olivia Gadecki, who received a wildcard for the season's first Grand Slam.

Former world number one Barty called time on her career last March, shortly after ending her country's 44-year wait for a home champion at the Australian Open.