Belinda Bencic has re-entered the WTA Top 10, moving from No. 11 to No. 10 after a dominant United Cup performance. Bencic was named the tournament MVP after going an undefeated 5-0 across five ties, a run that brought her 500 ranking points. Team Switzerland finished runner-up to Team Poland.

The milestone makes Bencic the first mother ranked in the Top 10 since Serena Williams occupied the spot during the two weeks between June 28 and July 15, 2021.

The path back has been swift and decisive. Bencic gave birth to her daughter Bella in April of 2024 and returned to the tour unranked in October of that year. She ended the 2024 season at No. 913.

Her 2025 season produced a rapid climb. She returned to the Top 100 in February after winning her first title back in Abu Dhabi, rose into the Top 50 in March after reaching the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, and reached the Top 20 in July following a semifinal run at Wimbledon. Bencic closed 2025 at No. 11 after winning her second title back in Tokyo. That move from No. 913 to No. 11 represented a 902-spot rise and was the largest jump between the 2024 and 2025 year-end rankings among the Top 20, Top 50 and Top 100.

Two of Bencic’s five United Cup victories came against Top 10 opposition: No. 8 Jasmine Paolini in the group stage and No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the final. Now, just 14 months into her comeback, she is again among the sport’s elite.

Elina Svitolina also reached a comeback high on the rankings this week, moving from No. 13 to No. 12. Svitolina, who gave birth to daughter Skai in 2022 and returned to action in 2023, won the title in Auckland this past week.

© 2026 Robert Prange

A year after finishing runner-up, top-seeded Learner Tien completed his mission at the Next Gen ATP Finals with a straight-sets victory over Alexander Blockx. The American beat the Belgian 4-3(4), 4-2, 4-1 at King Abdullah Sports City to claim the under-20 year-end title and reinforce his reputation among the game’s most promising young players.

Tien arrived in Jeddah as the clear favorite. His world No. 28 ranking sat well above the rest of the field; Blockx, the No. 2 seed, was ranked No. 116. The week began with a setback when Tien failed to convert any of four match points in an opening round-robin loss to Rafael Jodar, leaving him with work to do to reach the semifinals.

He responded by fighting back from a set down to win his two remaining group matches, then did not drop a set through the knockout rounds. Tien became the third top seed to capture the event, following Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018 and Carlos Alcaraz in 2021, and he is the second American champion after Brandon Nakashima in 2022.

With Rafael Nadal watching on, the young left-hander produced a composed performance in a 58-minute final. Though Blockx did not miss a first serve in the opening set, Tien was steady at the key moments and took the tiebreak. He controlled the rest of the match, and when he served for the match in the third set he faced break points and saved both.

“I’ve been waiting to hold this trophy for the past year,” Tien confessed in his victory speech.

“I was able to check a lot of boxes that I wanted to this year,” he added. “I had a pretty long list of goals I wanted to hit, and I was able to get most of them. I’m really happy.”

The title in Jeddah completes a week in which Tien combined resilience with timely execution to convert a near miss from the previous year into a tournament victory.

Learner Tien arrives at the Next Gen ATP Finals final determined to rewrite a painful page from his junior past. He will face Alexander Blockx, the player who beat him in the 2023 Australian Open junior final.

Asked about one of his prior meetings with Alexander Blockx, in the 2023 Australian Open junior final, Learner Tien had this to say on Saturday: “The only thing I remember is that [it] was the most heartbreaking loss of my life to that point.” Asked about his match tomorrow at the Next Gen ATP Finals—his second in as many years—Tien had this to say on Saturday: “He just kind of ran away with it,” referring to eventual winner Joao Fonseca. “I’m obviously trying to not let that happen again.”

Tien’s season began with a strong showing at the Australian Open. He qualified for the main draw, won a five-setter over Camilo Ugo Carabelli, and then defeated fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a fifth-set tiebreak. He went on to win another match and advance to the round of 16 at a major for the first time.

He reached the final in Jeddah after a composed semifinal win, taking his match 4-2, 4-1, 4-3 (3) over compatriot Nihesh Basavareddy.

Blockx arrives unbeaten at the event, having not dropped a match in Jeddah and compiling 43 aces through the week. He closed his semifinal with a straight-sets victory over Nicolai Budkov Kjær, 4-3 (4), 4-3 (8), 4-2. “This has been my most difficult match this week by far; the level we both played was really high,” Blockx said. “The second set is just that the luck fell on my side a bit.”

Both players reached career-high rankings on November 10; Tien is currently 28th and Blockx is 116th. Their trajectories this season have set up a final that pairs recent Slam breakthroughs with the confidence of an undefeated run.

The Next Gen ATP Finals carries a simple slogan in this week’s context: It all starts here. On Sunday, it all ends here.