“A Hollywood-style comeback”: Giving Birth to a Child and Climbing 92 Spots in Tennis Rankings
Swiss star Belinda Bencic made a Hollywood-style comeback after a 13-month maternity leave, winning her first title since February 2023 by claiming the Abu Dhabi Open championship. The 27-year-old overcame a first-set deficit against American Ashlyn Krueger, rallying to dominate the next two sets 6-1, 6-1 in the final over the weekend.
Bencic’s achievement went beyond the title—she also surged 92 places in the latest WTA rankings, climbing to No. 65.
The Tokyo 2021 Olympic gold medalist returned to the courts in October 2024, just six months after giving birth to her first child, Bella, in April 2024. With this triumph, she now holds nine career titles, although she is still far from her career-best ranking of No. 4, which she achieved in February 2020.
“It’s hard to put this into words,” Bencic said after her emotional victory. “I think only we, as a family, know what we’ve been through. We are incredibly grateful and lucky to have Bella in our lives. At the same time, I’m fortunate to continue doing what I love and achieving results—this is a small dream come true.”
With the first WTA 1000 tournament of the season underway in Doha, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka retains the world No. 1 ranking, ahead of defending champion Iga Świątek, American Coco Gauff, and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
In the men’s class, Australian Alex de Minaur matched his career-best ranking, which he achieved in July last year, by climbing two places to become sixth after reaching the final of the Rotterdam ATP 500 tournament. However, he lost there for the second consecutive year, this time to Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz. In the same tournament, Yannik Sinner, ranked No. 1 worldwide, retained his position ahead of Alexander Zverev and Alcaraz, respectively. Notably, the latter two were absent from last week’s tournaments.
As a result of De Minaur’s rise, Novak Djokovic dropped to No. 7, and Daniil Medvedev slipped to No. 8. Djokovic was absent from last week’s tournaments, while Medvedev suffered an early exit in Rotterdam.
Canadian Denis Shapovalov surged 22 spots after winning the Dallas Open, moving up to No. 32, while Norwegian Casper Ruud, who finished as runner-up, maintained his No. 5 ranking.
Top 10 WTA Rankings (Women’s Singles):
- Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) – 8,956 points
- Iga Świątek (Poland) – 8,770
- Coco Gauff (USA) – 6,538
- Jasmine Paolini (Italy) – 5,288
- Jessica Pegula (USA) – 4,861 (+1)
- Madison Keys (USA) – 4,680 (+1)
- Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) – 4,588 (-2)
- Zheng Qinwen (China) – 4,095
- Emma Navarro (USA) – 3,709
- Paula Badosa (Spain) – 3,588
Top 10 ATP Rankings (Men’s Singles):
- Jannik Sinner (Italy) – 11,830 points
- Alexander Zverev (Germany) – 8,135
- Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) – 7,510
- Taylor Fritz (USA) – 5,100
- Casper Ruud (Norway) – 4,480
- Alex de Minaur (Australia) – 4,015 (+2)
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 3,900 (-1)
- Daniil Medvedev (Russia) – 3,830 (-1)
- Tommy Paul (USA) – 3,445
- Andrey Rublev (Russia) – 3,270
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