Baby Bella sleeps while Belinda Bencic lights up – and brings back an old acquaintance
Belinda Bencic returns to the tennis circuit after her maternity break in Hamburg with a 6:3, 6:1 victory. And he introduces Ian Hughes, a trainer who has worked with her before.
Belinda Bencic is back on the tennis circuit.
Cue the return of Belinda Bencic after her maternity leave. In Hamburg, the 27-year-old Julia Awdejewa (WTA 238) won 6:3, 6:1 after 73 minutes. At the start, Bencic took the Russian’s serve, but then had to accept the break to make it 3-3 before she won eight games in a row. In the round of 16 she will face Russian-born Anastasia Kulikova (24, WTA 296), who has been playing for Finland since 2018.
Afterwards, Bencic was happy in the interview on the court: “It was a good match, I played strongly. I played well in training, but showing that in the game is another matter. There is definitely room for improvement.” He needs to get faster and more explosive. «I am still a little slow, but that is completely normal and will improve with game practice. I don’t put any pressure on myself. After six months, I am much further than I thought,” said Bencic.
Attentive observer: Martin Hromkovic with a stroller.
The first game in 414 days torrent
Belinda Bencic’s fiancé Martin Hromkovic was not only involved in the trip to Hamburg-Horn, but also six-month-old Bella, who sleeps next to the pitch in the stroller while her mother plays a game for the first time in 414 days. “It was really sweet” when she had time to look, Bencic said after her return.
The reason she chose the small tournament in the far north of Germany was because of its proximity to her home in Slovakia and Switzerland. For her, it’s not just about playing practice, but also finding out how to balance the needs of her family and her life as a tennis player. “It’s obviously a big challenge,” she said before the competition. “But there are millions of mothers around the world who manage to find a balance between family and work. So we are not a special case.”
The family situation is new, but the man Bencic is training with in Hamburg these days is well known. It is the Welshman Ian Hughes, with whom she worked between July 2017 and June 2018.
Back at Belinda Bencic’s side: Iain Hughes.
Come back with you 2017?
Hughes has already supported Bencic once in a brand new phase of his career. In 2017 she had to have an operation on her left wrist and then had to take a break for five months. Under Hughes, she not only rediscovered the joy of tennis, but also quickly became successful.
As in the case of Hamburg, Bencic chose smaller tournaments to catch up with the best in the world. She played in St Petersburg, Clermont-Ferrand, Poitiers, Hua Hin and Singapore, winning three tournaments and improving the world rankings from 318th to 61st.
Belinda Bencic is back on the tennis circuit.
Three weeks, three tournaments
The separation from Hughes took place after the 2018 French Open. Bencic said at the time: “We had more different opinions over time, and tennis doesn’t just happen on the court, it’s also a lifestyle.” She is grateful for the time we spent together, “I was able to learn a lot from him.”
Now his life situation is different. Bencic says: “We have never lost touch since. We know each other well and I wanted someone I knew and knew. I didn’t want to do any experiments. And we have already made a very successful comeback. I hope it lasts longer this time.” However, the two have only been training together again for three weeks, most of the time in Monte Carlo.
After Hamburg, Belinda Bencic will play another tournament in Petange, Luxembourg next week before Serbia meets Switzerland in the Billie Jean King Cup in Biel in mid-November.
Belinda Bencic’s recent return to the tennis circuit has been marked by both personal and professional milestones. Her fiancé, Martin Hromkovic, supported her at the Hamburg-Horn tournament, bringing along their six-month-old daughter, Bella, who slept in a stroller by the pitch while Bencic competed for the first time in 414 days. This move reflects Bencic’s desire to balance her family life with her tennis career, choosing a smaller tournament near her home in Slovakia and Switzerland to ease the transition. She acknowledges the challenge of juggling these roles but feels encouraged by the millions of mothers who manage a similar balance. Training under the guidance of Ian Hughes, with whom she had previously worked, Bencic aims to regain her competitive edge. Their past collaboration helped her bounce back from wrist surgery in 2017, ultimately leading her to significant tournament victories and a substantial ranking improvement from 318th to 61st.