Belinda Bencic held nine-month-old daughter Bella in one arm and the WTA Abu Dhabi trophy in the other after claiming the title on Saturday in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 fightback finals win over Ashlyn Krueger.
The Swiss who won Olympic gold in Tokyo had only returned to the Tour last autumn; she backed up her trophy here from 2023, the year before she left the circuit for a pregnancy pause.
Bencic worked for nearly two and a half hours to secure victory in only her fourth event since returning to tennis; she reached the Australian Open fourth round last month in a show of strength and an indication of possible things to come.
She is the first mother to claim a singles title since Elina Svitolina in Strasbourg, May, 2023.
Bencic now owns nine WTA trophies and stands a flawless 9-0 at the Gulf venue.
The 27-year-old Swiss will shoot up the rankings from 157th toaround 65th. She will miss next week’s tournament in Doha but will reappear in the final tournament of the February Gulf swing in Dubai from February 17.
She won that prestigious UAE event in 2019.
Main photo:- Belinda Bencic with daughter Bella and Abu Dhabi trophy – by WTATennis.com
