Belinda Bencic clinches first WTA Title since becoming a Mom

Swiss tennis player Belinda Bencic has won her first WTA title since returning to tennis last October. Belinda won the Abu Dhabi Open by defeating Ashlyn Krueger. This weekend will also mark the conclusion of the Transylvania, Dallas and Rotterdam Open tournaments. The Abu Dhabi Open 2025 is complete with Bencic winning the championship.

Belinda Bencic wins the title as mother

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Women’s Tennis Association (@wta)

Belinda became a mom last year and was out of tennis for many months. Last October, she returned to professional tennis at a low-level tournament in Hamburg. In the 2021 Olympic gold medallist defeated top seed Elena Rybakina and reached the finals of the Abu Dhabi Open. In the finals, she played against Ashlyn Krueger. In the early rounds, she was struggling against the American and was one set behind.

Then in the second set, Bencic gave her fightback and won the set. In the third and final decider set, the Swiss player continued her good momentum and won the title by 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. This is her ninth career title in WTA singles. This is also the biggest title won by a mom since Victoria Azarenka’s WTA 1000 win at the Cincinnati Open 2020. This is the second biggest title won by a mom in the last 14 years. Tennis great Serena Williams tried many times as a mom but lost all the big grand slam finals. 

Belinda gave birth to a daughter named Bella in April 2024. In January, she made her first major tournament debut in the United Cup, Adelaide Open and the Australian Open. She lost all three but in her biggest tournament the Australian Open 2025 she reached the fourth round and lost to Coco Gauff. After winning, Bencic said, “It’s been a while! I’m super happy to be back here in Abu Dhabi. It is so emotional to come back and to win a title in front of my family is really special. We have done such hard work to come back. It was a big dream for me.”

Also Read: Friendship restored: Paula Badosa forgives Aryna Sabalenka after receiving a huge gift