Belinda Bencic in Abu Dhabi with daughter Bella
Image: Keystone
Only the Olympic victory was more emotional for Bencic
Image: Keystone
Ninth tournament win, the first as a mom
Image: Keystone
Unbeaten in Abu Dhabi (9:0 wins)
Image: Keystone
Belinda Bencic "incredibly happy"
Image: Keystone
Belinda Bencic in Abu Dhabi with daughter Bella
Image: Keystone
Only the Olympic victory was more emotional for Bencic
Image: Keystone
Ninth tournament win, the first as a mom
Image: Keystone
Unbeaten in Abu Dhabi (9:0 wins)
Image: Keystone
Belinda Bencic "incredibly happy"
Image: Keystone
After 143 minutes, Belinda Bencic threw her arms up in triumph in Abu Dhabi. Her total happiness was clear to see. "I'm incredibly happy," said Bencic.
08.02.2025, 19:14
08.02.2025, 19:16
SDA
Her ninth tournament victory, her first as a mother, was extremely emotional for the 27-year-old from Flawil.
Belinda Bencic showed in the Emirates that - when in top form - she is once again world class. She stepped on the gas in Abu Dhabi. She exceeded her own expectations. She celebrated another tournament win at just her third WTA tournament since her maternity leave. In the final against the American Ashlyn Krueger, Bencic may not have played quite as well as the day before against Yelena Rybakina, but she once again prevailed in three sets (4:6, 6:1, 6:1).
Bencic has never lost at this tournament in the Emirates. She won the tournament two years ago, the first time she took part. Bencic: "Abu Dhabi is definitely my favorite tournament now. Because I've never won any other tournament twice."
In the final against the up-and-coming 20-year-old Texan Ashlyn Krueger, Belinda Bencic improved enormously after losing the first set. In the first set, the 27-year-old from Eastern Switzerland led twice with a break (1:0 and 4:3), but lost the set 4:6 after 68 minutes. In sets 2 and 3, Bencic only conceded two more games. After 2:21 hours, Bencic converted her first match point. Bencic: "I tried to play more aggressively after the first set. That was successful."
How should Bencic's success be classified? The fact that she has already won her third WTA tournament after the baby break is an almost unprecedented success. Elina Svitolina reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon 2023 just three months after returning from maternity leave. For most other players, including former world No. 1s and Grand Slam tournament winners such as Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka, the return to motherhood was much slower.
This is another reason why the ninth tournament win brought huge emotions with it. Bencic: "Of course that was the original goal - to come back strong, play as well as before and win titles again. But nobody expected me to do it so quickly. Alongside the Olympic victory, this tournament win is definitely the most emotional of my career."
The player from eastern Switzerland is already in 5th place in the annual rankings. In the world rankings, things are moving up less quickly for the Swiss: on Monday, Bencic improves from 157th to around 65th place. Ashlyn Krueger also continues her advance and improves to around 40th position.
Bencic will not play the tournament in Doha next week. She will travel directly from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, where she will start the next WTA tournament in a week's time.
