By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, February 8, 2025

Darting right, Belinda Bencic drilled a forehand strike down the line.

Even when stretched out, Bencic blistered bold replies in a rousing comeback conquest.

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Fueled by a five-game surge, Bencic rallied past American Ashlyn Krueger 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in today’s Abu Dhabi final to capture her ninth career championship—and first since becoming a new mom last April.

On a windy night, Bencic dialed in her drives to collect her second Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open crown in the last three years.

The Swiss wild card did it all with her baby on board. Bencic’s husband, Martin Hromkovic, held the couple’s daughter Bella in his arms. Standing court side, Hromkovic looked teary-eyed watching a beaming Bencic hit one final forehand winner to end a two hour, 23-minute comeback.

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Afterward, the entire family posed for the trophy shot with mom Belinda citing baby Bella as her inspiration to get back out on court.

“I didn’t imagine this. I’m also getting a little emotional,” Bencic told Abu Dhabi fans. “I was working really hard to come back and to win a title in front of my family is really special.”

Consider the 2021 Olympic gold-medal champion was ranked No. 1213 last November as she launched her comeback from maternity leave. Bencic beat defending champion and former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and the talented Krueger back-to-back and rises to No. 65 with this title run.

It’s a remarkable result for Bencic, a clean ball striker who developed her all-court skills partnering two of the game’s greatest shotmakers—Roger Federer in Hopman Cup and Martina Hingis in doubles–-earlier in her career and showed her flair for dramatic angles in the final.

“Also to my coach, Iain, I think we did such hard work to play here,” Bencic said. “To my husband and daughter Bella, I love you so much.

“It was a big dream for me to come back and play in front of her and to win the tournament. This is the first tournament I won twice so this has got to be my favorite tournament.”

It was a breakthrough tournament for the 20-year-old Krueger, too.

Playing her fourth three-setter of the tournament, Krueger ran out of gas and was spraying shots in the latter stages.

Still, this trip to her first WTA 500-level final vaults Krueger to a career-high ranking of No. 40. Working with coach Michael Joyce, former coach of her tennis hero Maria Sharapova, Krueger has a very solid foundation, can take the offense against most opponents on hard courts and is skilled striking down the line off both wings.

“I want to say congrats to Belinda on an amazing week,” Krueger said. “It’s so impressive you coming back and being a mother. It’s really inspirational. Congrats and good luck.”

Struggling to tame her toss in an unruly breeze, Bencic dumped three double faults to hand back the break in the second game of the final.

Combine jolting power, the fearlessness of youth and an affinity for targeting lines and you can understand why Krueger is a fun watch.

Facing four break points in the third game, Krueger did not hold back twice touching lines—the back edge of the serve line with an ace and a sliver of the sideline with a forehand strike down the line—for an exhilarating hold and 2-1 lead.

Stepping into the court, Krueger leaned low and lashed a backhand winner down the line then cracked a crosscourt backhand off the sideline breaking again for 3-1.

Wild card Bencic, who beat big serving defending champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, broke back at love in the fifth game.

Confronting four break points, Bencic made a stand, including a superb running short-angled forehand pass that helped her hold in the sixth game. Riding that positive game, Bencic for a 4-3 lead when Krueger slapped her eighth double fault into the tape.

One of 17 American ranked inside the WTA Top 100, Krueger caught a break when her drive collided into net and crawled over clinching the break back in the eighth game.

Serving at 4-5, Bencic saved a set point with a biting body serve. Krueger kept firing away.

On her second set point, Krueger coaxed an errant running forehand from the Swiss sealing a physical 67-minute opening set with her fourth break.

Lashing the lines at times, Krueger hit 13 more winners than Bencic—21 to 8—but committed 10 more errors. The wind was an adversary in the first set—Krueger clanked 10 double faults and Bencic won just 38 percent of her first-serve points—as both women sometimes struggled to time their tosses amid the breeze.

Losing such a physical set might drain some players, but Bencic was just getting her game warmed up.

A big Benic forehand strike down the line powered the Swiss to start the second set with a banging break.

In the first set, Bencic could barely buy a first serve.

In the second set, her first serve was money in the bank. Bencic slid an ace down the T and banged a backhand winner capping a love hold for a 4-0 second-set lead.

A confident Bencic completely turned the tide, winning 77 percent of her first-serve points in the second set. Bencic was striking drives down the line with ambition as she broke again to seal the second set and force a third after one hour, 43 minutes.

Experience was evident as Benic adapted to the breeze, stinging her third ace down the T holding at 15 to start the decider.

The 20-year-old Krueger went the three-set distance in three of her four tournament wins this week—beating compatriot Mccartney Kessler, 2024 finalist Daria Kasatkina and 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez—and lost a bit of the edge as the final neared the two-hour mark. Bencic hit some forcing two-handers to break for her fourth straight game and a 2-0 lead.

The American made a push in the third game. Bencic, who was barking at coach Iain Hughes in a sign of stress, denied all three break points, digging out her fifth game in a row for a firm 3-0 lead.

About the only obstacle a sharp Bencic faced near the finish line was when she took a medical timeout holding the 3-0 lead.



Cleaning up at closing time, Bencic burst through 12 of the final 15 points lashing a forehand down the line to finish.

This title run comes nearly two years to the day, Bencic fought off three championship points in the 2023 Abu Dhabi final.

Battling back from the brink that day, Bencic denied three championship points in the tiebreaker rallying past Liudmila Samsonova 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 to capture her eighth career title with a stirring Abu Dhabi fightback.

Today, the 27-year-old Bencic again showed strong resolve rallying from one set down improving to 9-0 lifetime in Abu Dhabi, which she now calls "my favorite tournament."

Bencic’s husband, Martin, holding the couple’s baby daughter Bella in a baby carrier courtside, looked to be near tears as he kissed Bella after her mom clinched her ninth career title.

If she can replicate the quality she showed over the final two sets tonight, Bencic will certainly stage a lot more celebratory family photos at trophy time.