Belinda Bencic in Switzerland celebrated with little girl Bella in her arms after defeating American Ashlyn Krueger in the Abu Dhabi Open final to win a ninth WTA title and first since he became a mother.
The former Olympic champion, 27, fought a shoot to overcome Krueger, 20-6 6 years, 6-1 6-1.
Bencic’s victory intervened 10 months after the arrival of his first child and less than four months since his return of more than a year on maternity leave.
“It’s been a while,” she said, welcoming a grateful crowd at Zayed Sports City International Tennis Center.
The latest WTA world title of the former number four occurred at the Abu Dhabi Open in February 2023.
“I am super happy to be back here in Abu Dhabi. I did not imagine this.
“I worked very hard to play, coming back. So, to also win a title in front of my family, it’s really special.
“To my husband and daughter Bella, I love you so much. It was a big dream for me to come back and play in front of her and win a tournament.”
When Bencic returned to sport in October, its global ranking fell at 1,213, but it reached the fourth round of the Australian Open on its return from the Grand Colem and its race in the Abu Dhabi Open helped her withdraw into the top 100.
The victory means that it will now go up to 65th when the classification is up to date.
The world number 51 Krueger, which has quickly progressed the ranking itself in recent months, seemed to end an upheaval to claim what would have been its second title and the first at WTA 500.
Bencic was broken four times by losing the opening set, but quickly found the form that helped her claim his own upheaval by Beat the head of Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals.
A clearly disappointed krueger was graceful in defeat, saying in his interview on the field: “It’s so impressive that you come back and as a mother, it’s really inspiring, then congratulations and good luck.”
