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New mom Belinda Bencic has flown to Melbourne to begin her quest for a maiden Grand Slam with baby Bella in tow. Notably, the Australian Open will be the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist's first Grand Slam outing as a mother. Bencic and her partner Martin Hromkovic welcomed their daughter Bella on April 23, 2024.
Bencic posted a picture with her daughter on board a plane on Instagram. Their next stop, she informed in a caption to the story, was Melbourne.
In a follow-up story, the Swiss star revealed that her family had settled into their accommodation for the tourney, the Oakwood Premier Melbourne. The picture featured Hromkovic unwinding on the couch while baby Bella stared out at the Melbourne skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows.
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"Perfect apartment room and kitchen for our family," Bencic wrote of the accommodation.
The former World No. 4 has been traveling in Australia with her daughter and has shared several adorable snippets of their adventures Down Under.
Bencic last took to the courts at the Adelaide International. The Swiss made it through two rounds of qualifying before making it into the main draw. She moved past Anna Kalinskaya, who retired hurt in the second set, but fell in the Round of 16 to Liudmila Samsonova in a tight three-setter.
The Swiss started her season at the mixed-team United Cup event. Although Team Switzerland defeated France in their opener, they failed to reach the knockout stage after a loss to Italy.
Belinda Bencic returned to the courts in October last year after taking a lengthy maternity leave.
Belinda Bencic revealed how motherhood has changed her life
Belinda Bencic shared that her life has changed drastically since she became a mother. Bencic recently shared during an on-court interview at the United Cup,
"I didn’t expect to be back so early. I have huge respect to all the moms. What women go through, the body change is amazing. We couldn’t be happier at the moment. We’re parents now. Our lives have changed, but definitely for the better. We’re super excited with Bella. She’s here. We survived the flight to Australia.”
She revealed that she felt "calmer" and less pressure on the court as her family has now become her top priority.
"Before tennis was all my life. I put so much pressure. Now it’s just not the most important thing. My priority is my family. I can leave a bad day at the office, on the tennis court behind. That’s something that’s changed," she said.
Belinda Bencic will begin her Australian Open campaign against the sixteenth seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
