PublishedOctober 29, 2024, 5:05 p.m.
TennisWhat you need to know about Belinda Bencic‘s return
The Saint-Galloise will make her return to play on Wednesday, six months after the birth of her daughter. She wants to take advantage of the ITF tournament in Hamburg to get back on track.
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- Maxime Rérat
Belinda Bencic reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2019. Certainly one of the peaks of her career, which she is preparing to resume.
Getty ImagesBelinda Bencic will face Russian Julia Avdeeva, modest 238th in the world, this Wednesday in the first round of the ITF 75 tournament in Hamburg. This will be the return to competition of the Saint-Galloise who has not played since the San Diego Open at the beginning of September 2023. The former No. 4 in the world hierarchy then put his career on hold for more of a year to give birth, on April 23, to her daughter Bella.
Not the first mom to come back
At 27, Belinda Bencic assures that she still has many good years ahead of her. She is also not the first professional to return to the world tennis circuit after giving birth to a child. Former Grand Slam winners, the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, the Danish Caroline Wozniacki and the Japanese Naomi Osaka have been there, as have the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and the German Tatjana Maria.
A minor tournament before the Billie Jean King Cup
Due to her prolonged absence, the native of Flawil lost all her points in the WTA rankings. She owes her participation in the Hamburg tournament to a wildcard granted by the organizers, who were also delighted to welcome an Olympic champion.
“The timing of my return fits perfectly with my short-term plans,” she told online media Puntodebreak.com. His goal is to get back into shape in mid-November, in preparation for the Billie Jean King Cup matches between Switzerland and Serbia. “I am happy to be able to test my level in a tournament like Hamburg before this event,” she added.
She wants to return to the highest level
Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, Belinda Bencic also reached the semi-finals of the US Open two years earlier. In February 2020, it was ranked fourth in the world rankings. Can she still reach such heights? Impossible to predict, but the Swiss remains ambitious for the rest of her career.
Olympic champion in 2021 in Tokyo.
IMAGO/USA TODAY Network“I haven’t fully regained my form yet and I’m not playing my best tennis. But I feel good and I’m ready to compete. I want to test myself in a competitive environment to identify the aspects on which we will have to work over the coming months, in order to start the 2025 season in the best possible way,” she projected. And added, in the columns of the Tennis365 media: “Playing tennis is like riding a bike: we don’t forget. But I still have to improve.”
A balance to find
Belinda Bencic will also have to find a balance between her life as a mother and that of an elite athlete. For the record, the father of his daughter, Martin Hromkovic, is also his physical trainer. “At the Hamburg tournament we want to see how we can manage everyday life with Bella,” she said in an interview with the Hamburger Tennis-Verband.
As a physical trainer, her fiancé is often present with Bencic during his competitions abroad. This should help the young woman to concentrate fully on tennis during her upcoming tournaments.
