"All I thought about was the birth of my daughter... It was difficult" - Belinda Bencic opens up about motherhood, returning to tennis post-pregnancy

Belinda Bencic shared that her only concern during her hiatus was to give birth to her daughter, not having her return to tennis in foresight. Bencic came fresh off winning both singles and doubles at the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs.

In 2023, Bencic clinched her seventh WTA tour title at the Adelaide International and her effort catapulted her to No. 10 in the world rankings. She earned her eighth title at the Abu Dhabi Open but failed to make it through to the second round at the French Open.

Bencic then marked strong finishes back-to-back at Wimbledon, the Washington Open, and the Canadian Open. Not having competed since September, the Olympic champion announced her pregnancy in November.

The Swiss and her long-term boyfriend Martin Hromkovic welcomed their baby daughter, Bella, on April 23, 2024. As she's gearing up for the 2025 season, Bencic opened up about motherhood and how the baby was her primary concern during the hiatus. She couldn't even give a fixed date for her return after delivery.

"It all happened faster than I could have expected. I didn’t set any dates or time limits at first, I really didn’t want to put any pressure on myself and I didn’t know what could happen," she said (via Punto De Break).

"All I thought about was the birth of my daughter and how I would feel after everything. People kept asking me about my return, but I was never able to give them much information," she added.

In 2024, Bencic returned to the competition at the ITF event in Hamburg and continued her momentum at the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs, winning the singles match against Lola Radivojević and taking the doubles win alongside Jil Teichmann.

---

Belinda Bencic on her bodily changes after becoming a mother

Belinda Bencic speaking at the National Bank Open Montréal - Day 3 - (Source: Getty)

Belinda Bencic will kick off her 2025 season ranked 907 and is ready to fly to Australia with her daughter for the United Cup. The 27-year-old still doesn't feel the best on the court but was surprised to find her rhythm back not long after gracing motherhood.

"Eight weeks after giving birth I started to move around a bit and do sports again, that was all my body would allow. At first it was difficult, I felt slow in every action I undertook, until suddenly I felt fast again, very fast. It was as if my muscle memory knew what I was doing again," she said to Punto De Break.

"I must confess that I still don’t feel in top form, I’m far from that, but even I am surprised that I was able to compete again in such a short time," she added.

Belinda Bencic achieved the Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeating Markéta Vondroušová and becoming the first Swiss female player to win the Olympic gold in history.