Tennis star ‘happy’ rival who reached Wimbledon final has walked away from tennis | Tennis | Sport

Bencic knows what it’s like to take a pregnancy break and successfully return to competition. She welcomed her daughter, Bella, in April 2024, and then returned to professional tennis just six months later on the lower-level ITF circuit. Within four months of her comeback, she won a WTA 500 title. And she has since returned to the top-10.

Now competing in Charleston as the No. 3 seed, the Swiss star is glad she won’t see Jabeur on the other side of the net in the immediate future. They faced off in back-to-back finals there, with Bencic winning in 2022, before Jabeur got her revenge in 2023.

While she’s happy Jabeur is missing the WTA 500 event, Bencic also gave her old rival a shoutout as she advanced through the draw in Charleston. “I’m happy she’s finally not here, so maybe I can not play a final against her!” the world No. 12 joked during an on-court interview.

“I’m very happy for her. We are texting sometimes, and I’m glad she’s doing well. She’s going to be an amazing mother. I think it was her big dream to have a baby, and I think it’s amazing that athletes choose their family as well as their career.”

Bencic knows exactly what it’s like to travel the tour with a baby in tow. When she won the Abu Dhabi Open last February – her first title post-pregnancy – Bella joined her on the court. Now almost two years old, Bella joins Bencic on the tennis tour year-round.

In recent tournament videos, she was seen acting as a ball girl for her mum in Charleston, while at the Miami Open, she looked sceptical as Jannik Sinner tried to high-five her and kick a ball with her.

“I choose to bring Bella to every tournament. I spend so much time with her. I’m really grateful I have this opportunity, to have people around me that help me to do that, to be able to play and to bring Bella,” Bencic said.

The world No. 12 still gets to put her daughter to bed every night while on tour, though they’re also getting to grips with a bedtime schedule, juggling jet lag and night matches. Bencic explained: “We have to be very, like, spontaneous, very flexible. I think now it’s about kind of finding the right timing, like seeing when she starts to be tired, but is not too tired, because when she’s too tired, it’s not possible to sleep anymore.

“But we have to be very flexible because of all the jet lags, and even the three hours coming from Indian Wells to Miami, it just messes up everything. So, yeah, we’re just kind of winging it, and Bella is great. So we’re okay. Sometimes I fall asleep even before her.”