Belinda Bencic earned a double-bagel victory in Abu Dhabi (Image: Getty)
Belinda Bencic earned an incredible victory as she beat Veronika Kudermetova 6-0 6-0 at the Abu Dhabi Open.
The Swiss star only returned to the a month ago following her pregnancy break, and she’s already making a statement.
The world No. 157 needed just an hour and five minutes to breeze past Kudermetova, booking her spot in the quarter-final.
Bencic spent more than a year away from competition and welcomed her first daughter, Bella, last April. But the former Olympic champion is back like she never left.
The 27-year-old received a wildcard into this week’s WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi, and she has already made the most of it.
Bencic needed three sets to get past Rebecca Sramkova in her opening match on Tuesday, but she didn’t want to waste any time when she faced former world No. 9 Kudermetova the following day.
The Swiss star had a close head-to-head with Kudermetove going into the contest, winning five of their nine past matches. But there was nothing close about Wednesday’s tie, as Bencic double-bagelled the Russian.
Belinda Bencic dropped just 11 points during the match (Image: Getty)
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It was her first 6-0 6-0 victory on the main tour and the first double bagel of the 2025 WTA season. Bencic won 27 of the 38 points played. Only three of the games went to deuce, two of them on Kudermetova’s serve.
Fellow WTA star Donna Vekic was stunned by the result. “I’m sorry what,” she replied to the WTA’s video of the match point.
Bencic is now through to the last eight, where she will face either No. 4 seed Yulia Putintseva or 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova.
The former world No. 4 will be looking to build on her brilliant form early in her comeback from pregnancy. Bencic decided to play some lower-level ITF and 125k events at the end of 2024 to regain her match fitness before returning to the WTA Tour in 2025.
It was a smart move, as she’s been on a roll since making her comeback. The 27-year-old started her season by representing her country at the United Cup before qualifying in Adelaide and making it to the last 16.
Bencic enjoyed a strong run at the , storming into the second week before losing to from a set up. During the tournament, she revealed she almost didn’t return to the tour so soon.
“If we wouldn’t have gotten into the United Cup as Team Switzerland, I would even consider maybe not even playing here in Australia just yet, because I just would think it’s too early. But I’m happy we came,” Bencic said.