Belinda Bencic secured her spot in the first tour-level semifinal of her comeback from maternity leave with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Marketa Vondrousova at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.
Abu Dhabi: Draws | Scores | Order of Play | 411
The two former Top 10 players had not faced each other in four years, their last encounters coming in 2021, including the Tokyo Olympic Games final, where Bencic triumphed 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Since then, both players have experienced significant changes in their careers.
Vondrousova has dealt with two separate six-month injury layoffs. However, in between, she captured her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2023. This marks just her second tournament of 2025 following shoulder surgery last August, with an additional thigh injury keeping her out of last month’s Australian Open.
Bencic, who welcomed daughter Bella last April, resumed competition at the ITF level in October and has quickly reasserted herself. The 27-year-old reached the Limoges WTA 125 final in December and advanced to the Australian Open fourth round in January, securing a notable win over Naomi Osaka. Now ranked No.157 in the PIF WTA Rankings, the former World No.4 is set to break back into the Top 120 after making her first tour-level semifinal since Charleston 2023.
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