Bencic set for professional return on the ITF Tour in Hamburg
Belinda Bencic will compete on the ITF World Tennis Tour for the first time in six years at the end of October when she returns to professional tennis after maternity leave.
The 27-year-old Swiss, who gave birth to her first child, Bella, in April, is set to enter the ITF W75 Hamburg tournament on 28 October in a bid to ‘test her level’ before representing her nation in their Billie Jean King Cup tie against Serbia in mid-November.
The ITF World Tennis Tour provides entry and mid-level professional tournaments and a pathway between the junior and professional game, as well as offering a hugely competitive platform for returning players to transition back to the sport’s highest level.
"I'm extremely excited to compete in Hamburg and very grateful for the wildcard,” said Bencic this week. “In terms of the timing of my comeback, it fitted very well.
View this post on Instagram
“My goal for this year is the Billie Jean King Cup in November (in Biel), and I'm happy to test my level at the Hamburg tournament beforehand."
Bencic is a former world No. 4 whose career-highlights include winning Olympic singles gold (and doubles silver) at Tokyo 2020. She also led Switzerland to their maiden Billie Jean King Cup triumph in 2022 and was arguably at the peak of her talents before departing the professional tour on maternity leave in September 2023, having reached the last 16 at three of the four Grand Slams in a calendar year for the first time.
While she will no doubt need time and patience as she plots her tour return with a child in tow, Bencic can’t wait to return to competition.
"I’m not yet at the absolute peak of my tennis and fitness level, but I feel really good and ready to compete,” she said.
“I want to test myself in a competitive setting to see what we need to work on to start the next season in top form. We also want to see how we can logistically manage everyday life at the tournament with Bella."
Five of Bencic's 15 professional singles titles have come at ITF level, including her triumph at an $80,000 Las Vegas in November 2018 - her last outing on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
Follow Bencic’s progress from 28 October - and view the entry list for W75 Hamburg - here.