by A former Olympic champion is celebrating her tennis comeback after maternity leave.
Switzerland’s Starbelinda Bencic is a former top 10 player with eight WTA Tour titles, including the prestigious Olympic gold medal.
The 27-year-old has not played since the San Diego Open in September 2023 and gave birth to her daughter Bella in April 2024.
Six months later, Bencic is ready to return to action and has set his sights on competing in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Where will Belinda Bencic play her first game after maternity leave?
Belinda Bencic took maternity leave after reaching the fourth round of three Grand Slams for the first time in 2023.
Her first tournament after giving birth as a mother will be at the ITF W75 Hamburg, which starts on October 28th.
The former world number four is keen to compete and see where her level is before she gets the opportunity to represent her country at the Billie Jean King Cup in November.
Bencic was looking forward to returning to action and said: “I am really looking forward to the competition in Hamburg and am very grateful for the wildcard. The timing of my comeback is very good.
“My goal for this year is the Billie Jean King Cup in November [in Biel]and I’m looking forward to testing my level at the Hamburg tournament.”
She added: “I’m not at the absolute peak of my tennis and fitness level yet, but I’m feeling really good and ready to compete.”
“I want to test myself in a competitive environment to see what we need to work on to start next season in top shape. We also want to see how we can logistically cope with everyday tournament life with Bella.”
When did Belinda Bencic win the Olympic gold medal?
Bencic won the biggest title of her career at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held a year later in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bencic started the campaign with a win over 2024 US Open runners-up Jessica Pegula and Misaki Doi.
She then ousted this year’s French Open champion and current Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková before Bencic defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the semi-finals.
Bencic then defeated former SW19 champion Elena Rybakina to reach the gold medal match, where she battled another former All-England Club champion, Marketa Vondrousova.
Bencic defeated the Czech and became Olympic champion with four consecutive three-set games.
Related Posts
