Bencic overcomes 'worries,' makes first semifinal of comeback in Abu Dhabi

Ahead of her comeback from maternity leave, Belinda Bencic admits she had trepidation about how much tennis had changed in her absence.

But since returning to action last October, the 27-year-old has quickly re-established herself as a threat at the top of the game. On Thursday, she reached her first tour-level semifinal since April 2023 with a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Marketa Vondrousova at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.

Abu Dhabi: Draws | Scores | Order of play | 411

"I was really worried that the speed of the ball and the speed of how the girls are serving now, and returning and everything, would be maybe a bit too much, or a little bit too early for me," Bencic said in her on-court interview. "But I'm also someone that plays fast, and I'm happy to see it's not such a big difference. The most I saw is that I have to work physically very hard."

Bencic, who gave birth to daughter Bella last April, has taken a step-by-step approach to her comeback. She returned to pro action at ITF level, then reached the final of the Limoges WTA 125 in December. Having tested the waters, she returned to tour level in 2025 and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open via a win over fellow mother Naomi Osaka.

Already back up to No.157 in the PIF WTA Rankings, Bencic is now guaranteed to be inside the Top 120 next Monday after defeating Vondrousova. The two former Top 10 players, both competing as wild cards this week, had not played each other in four years -- since a trio of meetings in 2021. The most high-profile of those was the Tokyo Olympic Games final, won by Bencic 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Since then, Vondrousova has endured two separate six-month layoffs due to injury; in between them, she claimed her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2023.

"It feels like chess a little bit": Gusty conditions meant that both players struggled to hold serve, and there were 11 breaks in total -- including six in a row to close out the first set. But despite the general lack of momentum, it was Bencic who leapt out to an early lead in both sets, then just about managed to keep her nose in front.

Vondrousova found early but brief success with her signature drop shot, but by the time the players sat down for the first changeover Bencic had begun to read them and track them down. The Czech retreated from the strategy, and consequently Bencic was free to take the upper hand by redirecting pace in her preferred style of exchanges.

"I always feel against Marketa it's very tactical," said Bencic. "It always feels it's like chess a little bit. The wind was getting a bit in our way for both of us, and it was tough to serve. But we managed to do well and we had some great rallies."

Bencic, the 2023 Abu Dhabi winner, will next face either No. 1 seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina or Ons Jabeur.

Krueger reaches biggest semifinal of career: Bencic was followed into the semifinals by Ashlyn Krueger, who came through an entertaining three-setter to upset No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in 2 hours and 24 minutes. The 20-year-old American advanced to the last four of a WTA event for the second time following her maiden title at Osaka 2023, and for the first time at WTA 500 level.

After edging a tight opening set, Krueger was in full flow as she advanced to a 3-0 second-set lead. But Fernandez struck back with a series of remarkable exchanges: a rat-a-tat net exchange which she ended with a reflexed lob over Krueger's head, and an extraordinary defensive point early in the third set.

But for all the magic Fernandez was able to produce, the Canadian's serve let her down as the match went on. Having only served one double fault in the first two sets, she committed six in the third. By contrast, Krueger was able to gather herself for a solid display of power tennis, highlighted by eight aces, in the home straight.