Belinda Bencic vor Comeback
“Millions of other moms can do it too – even with multiple children.”
As Bella’s mother, the 27-year-old returns to the tour in Hamburg. With great ambitions and a bit more looseness.
Belinda Bencic: “The last few months have been the most beautiful of my life.”
Photo: Laurent Gilliéron (Keystone)
- Belinda Bencic returns to the tennis tour after a 414-day break.
- Her daughter Bella accompanies her to tournaments without a nanny, just with her grandmothers.
- Bencic feels better physically, starts slowly and monitors her progress.
- She hasn’t changed her sporting goals as a mother and remains ambitious.
A lot has happened in Belinda Bencic’s life since she played her last game on the WTA tour in San Diego on September 12, 2023. As a mother and full of energy, the 27-year-old returns to the smaller tournament in Hamburg (75,000 dollars). On Wednesday, after a 414-day break from competition, she will face last year’s Russian winner Julia Avdejewa (WTA 238). It is the first step in Bencic’s comeback. In mid-November she will lead the Swiss team against Serbia at the Billie Jean King Cup in Biel, and she will return to the Grand Slam stage at the Australian Open 2025.
In a round table discussion in Hamburg before her first game, the Swiss gave insights into her new life and her expectations. Daughter Bella, who was born on April 23, 2024, is now six months old. Bencic says: “The last few months have been the best of my life. We enjoyed every second with Bella. She is a very happy baby. She lets me sleep at night and she comes with us to the court or the gym. So I could really concentrate on training.” Of course her fiancé Martin and the two grandmothers pitched in hard.
The grandmothers travel with us, no nanny
In Hamburg, Bencic is now getting used to her new routine as a mother on tour. “We managed it at home with the training rhythm. Now it’s time to see what the tournaments are like with Bella. She has now flown for the first time.” When it comes to care, Bencic doesn’t rely on a nanny, but rather on grandmothers. “They are really highly motivated to come to the tournaments. And they also help a lot at home. We are traveling as a family.”
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The return to action on a smaller stage is a good test to see where she stands – both physically and in terms of match toughness: “It definitely won’t be perfect, but I need this test to see what I need to work on.” During her reconstruction, she was helped by the fact that her fiancé is also her fitness trainer, and a qualified one at that. However, he also had to learn a few new things, such as pelvic floor training after pregnancy. “I had to listen to my body and take it slowly,” said Bencic. But now she feels very good physically and it’s getting better day by day.
Mothers on the tennis tour are still rare. But there are now some examples of players who have returned successfully. There are two mothers in the top 30: the Belarusian Viktorija Asarenka (35 years old) and the Ukrainian Elina Switolina (30). Bencic said she spoke to other mothers such as the German Tatjana Maria and Angelique Kerber, who has since resigned, about the challenges. “I was inspired that other moms also managed to combine both. It doesn’t hurt to get a few tips.”
In good spirits: Belinda Bencic with her new coach Iain Hughes in Hamburg.
Photo: Witters
However, she doesn’t see herself as a special case, says Bencic. “There are millions of other moms who also have to manage this with work and several children. But it’s a challenge.” For example, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, who returned to the tour as a mother this year, is still far from her previous rendezvous. The Japanese is still seven months younger than Bencic. When she played her last game, she was number 15 in the world. She can now use this protected ranking at twelve tournaments.
“Tennis is my job, there are other things in life”
Bencic emphasized in Hamburg that her sporting goals have not changed as a mother: “I still want to be among the best in the world. I think that’s possible today, even with a baby.” She also hopes that it will help her to have a different view of life: “I see it a little more loosely now. For me, tennis was really my everything. Now I have a little more distance. Tennis is my job, which I still love and want to do my best at. But there are other things in life.”
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