Belinda Bencic's preparation for the Australian Open will include the Adelaide International after the world No. 11 signed up to compete at the Australian WTA 500 tournament between January 12-17.
Since debuting on the hard courts of Adelaide in 2020, Bencic has made four appearances at the tournament and reached two finals. After making the Adelaide quarterfinal in 2020, the Swiss tennis star finished as runner-up at the tournament the following year. In 2023, Bencic returned to South Australia and won her first Adelaide title after demolishing Daria Kasatkina in the final 6-0 6-2.
Since Bencic was pregnant, she didn't defend her Adelaide title in 2024. But at the start of this season, the Swiss tennis star came to South Australia once again - this time she had to play qualifying - and after making it past the qualies, she won her first-round match before losing to Liudmila Samsonova in the round-of-16.
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Despite an early exit at this year's Adelaide edition, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist evidently likes what the Australian WTA 500 event brings to her ahead of the Australian Open and she agreed to take part at the tournament for the fifth time.
Bencic's statement on returning to Adelaide
"Hi everyone, it's Belinda Bencic and I'm so excited to return to the Adelaide International in South Australia. I have great memories there... Winning the tournament there in 2023 was a really nice moment for me, and I love the tournament so much, and the city as well. So I can't wait to be back. See you soon!" the world No. 11 said in a video message posted by the tournament.
During her post-pregnancy comeback in 2025, Bencic posted a 39-17 record and won two titles. Also, the Swiss went from being ranked outside the top-1000 to concluding her year ranked at No. 11 in the world.
