Belinda Bencic came from behind to beat Ashlyn Krueger 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and get the Mubadala Abu Dhabi title on Saturday, four months after returning to the maternity leave.
Swiss former World no. 4, which is now out of the first 150, gave birth to her daughter Bella in April. It becomes the first mother to apply the WTA Singles title since then Elina Svitolina He won in Strasbourg in May 2023.
It was also the biggest title since then the mother has won the WTA tour Victoria Azarenka He triumphed Cincinnati Open in 2020, which is the WTA 1000 event.
Bencic’s last trophy also came to Abu Dhabi in February 2023 and a 27-year-old gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympic Games has a 9-0 record at the event.
“It was a big dream for me to go back and play before [Bella] And win the tournament, ”Bencic said.
“This is the first tournament I won twice. … I will have to come back here for the rest of my career! ”
Krueger, which is due to penetrate the Top 40 on Monday, controlled the opening set in which it fired 21 winners, but Bencic returned in the second with only three unforced mistakes.
In the decision, Bencic disintegrated early to get to 2-0 before it broke again to get 5-1 leadership.
After two hours and 23 minutes, Bencic fired her 30th winner to claim the title, later introduced the trophy in one hand and her daughter in the other.
“It’s so impressive that you are returning, you are a mother. It’s really inspiring, ”said Krueger.
