Aryna Sabalenka was inspired by Belinda Bencic’s title run in Abu Dhabi (Image: Getty)
has dropped another hint that she plans to leave tennis for a pregnancy break.
Ahead of the , the world No. 1
Sabalenka has now doubled down on her plans after being inspired by Belinda Bencic, who welcomed her first child last year and has already lifted a title.
Bencic gave birth to her daughter Bella last April and returned to competition in October, initially playing lower-level ITF and 125 events. The Swiss star got back on the WTA Tour circuit at the start of the 2025 season, and she’s already picked up a trophy.
The 27-year-old was crowned the champion at the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi over the weekend and shot back inside the world’s top 100, sitting at No. 65. And her run caught Sabalenka’s attention.
“That’s impressive, honestly. She just came back,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said.
“I think [at the] she had a great run [to the fourth round] and now she’s holding the trophy. It’s amazing, I’m super happy for her, she definitely deserved that.”
While Sabalenka is delighted for Bencic, she also admitted it gave her ‘hope’ for a potential pregnancy break.
Belinda Bencic won a title less than a year after welcoming her first child (Image: Getty)
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The world No. 1 continued: “As she said, she worked really hard for that, and it’s good to see. It gives us hope that probably, whenever we’re all going to go for babies, we have a chance to come back if we want to.”
Bencic isn’t the only player who has made a successful return after welcoming a child. , Elina Svitolina, and Kim Clijsters have also enjoyed success post-pregnancy.
Not everyone takes the same route – some players wait until they have retired to start a family. But Sabalenka has already expressed her desire to have a baby and return to competition.
Ahead of last month’s , the 26-year-old was asked about her eventual retirement plans. “I don’t know, it’s a tough question,” she replied.
“I hope I’ll have [a] family. I love kids, I want to have kids, and I don’t want my first kid at 35, you know? The way I see it, I really want to have a kid and then come back. And I want my kid to see how hard you should work in life to get things.”
For now, Sabalenka will be focused on the WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai, taking place over the next two weeks. It’s a quick turnaround from the , where she lost in the final.
The Belarusian won the in 2023 and 2024 but couldn’t pull off the hat-trick, . “This one was the toughest one. I think for a week I was still thinking about that match,” she said of the final.
Sabalenka now feels “fully recovered” from the defeat, though she’s pacing herself in Doha and Dubai.
She added: “The schedule is actually pretty tough, especially if you make it to the last stage of the , then you don’t have much time to recover and prepare yourself for these big events.
“I believe I’ll just take these two tournaments as preparation for the Sunshine one, and I’ll try to build my tennis, and probably take my tennis to the next level in these two events.”