Fisher Beats Newborn Son By 13 Minutes

© Fisher FamilyAshley and Kirsten Fisher, with son Holden and the family dog, Matilda.

Doubles specialist Ashley Fisher and wife Kirsten, VP of Sales and Sponsorship Marketing for WTA, welcomed their first child into the world, Holden Wallace Fisher, this past Friday, 29 July. But the 35-year-old Australian almost missed the birth of his son, racing against the clock to witness the life-changing moment.

Fisher was traveling to the Farmers Classic on assignment for Tennis Channel and booked the latest possible flight in case his spouse went into labor. She didn’t, so the St. Petersburg, Florida resident boarded his departure from Tampa to Denver where he would make his connection for Los Angeles. But upon landing in Colorado, Fisher had a text message stating to turn around, so he scrambled to find a last minute seat back to Florida.

The ATP Player Council International Representative managed to get on an 11:55pm red-eye, but was forced to go through Miami with a 5am arrival. Fisher’s connecting flight to Tampa wasn’t until 8am and Kirsten had already checked into the hospital two hours prior. He touched down around 9am and opted to leave his checked baggage, dashing to the hospital as his mother in law claimed, “Holden wants out now!”

Fortunately for Fisher, the hospital was in close proximity to Tampa’s airport and he reached the delivery room at 9:25am. 13 minutes later, Kirsten gave birth to Holden. The newborn weighed in at eight pounds, seven ounces and measured 20 inches. “As much as I love playing tennis and winning matches, having a little guy that depends on you for everything in life really puts things in perspective,” said Fisher. “July 29th, 2011 will go down as the best day of my life.”

The winner of four ATP World Tour doubles titles, Fisher made his comeback to the tour at the Australian Open after missing the 2010 season with a knee injury, and has since reached the third round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon with Stephen Huss. “I am looking forward to returning to the tour and competing again, now having the feeling that I am playing for my wife and son.”