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Belinda Bencic Returns to WTA Top 10, First Mother in the Elite Since 2021

Belinda Bencic returns to the WTA Top 10 after United Cup MVP run; first mom in Top 10 since 2021…

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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.

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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

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Finals French Open Grand Slam

Siniakova, Townsend secure Roland Garros title and chase team Career Grand Slam

Siniakova and Townsend captured Roland Garros, their third different major, and target a Career Slam.

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Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend returned to Grand Slam victory with a straight-sets win at Roland Garros, beating second-seeded Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 6-2, 7-5. After falling behind 4-1 in the second set, the top seeds rallied to claim the clay-court major and register their third different major trophy together.

The Paris title follows their triumphs at 2024 Wimbledon and the 2025 Australian Open, leaving the pair with an opportunity to complete a team Career Grand Slam in New York later this year. Townsend reflected on what the American major would mean, saying, “For me the US Open would mean everything for me to be able to win that. I’ve gotten close several times as well. Lost to (Katerina) the first time,” Townsend smiled when speaking to press.

Siniakova was emotional after the victory as the duo collected their seventh team title. For the Czech, who already has a Career Golden Slam with Barbora Krejcikova, this marked her 11th Grand Slam crown in women’s doubles. Four of those titles have come at the clay-court major with three different partners.

Speaking about their partnership, Siniakova said, “The game of me and Taylor is totally different. I think for the opponents it’s also really tricky, because we can change it, and we can play almost anything we want. We can just do it during the game. I’m just really glad that we kind of work on everything and play anything, because then it’s also making it easier for us.”

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The pair have been in strong form across the spring, winning four of the last five events they contested, with earlier titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. For Townsend, time away from her five-year-old son Adyn is a challenge she willingly accepts. “Of course, winning a title in a Grand Slam, it’s amazing. My dad, he was like, ‘I taped the ceremony, so I’ll show it when he wakes up.’ For (Adyn) to be able to see me succeeding, it means a lot to me, but also to be able to bring back lessons and things that I’ve learned and to come back a better person really drives and motivates me a lot,” Townsend said.

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Finals French Open Grand Slam

Mirra Andreeva wins first Grand Slam, defeats Maja Chwalinska in Paris final

Mirra Andreeva, 19, won her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros, beating Maja Chwalinska 6-3 6-2. (RG)

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Mirra Andreeva closed a remarkable fortnight at Roland Garros by defeating Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 to claim her first Grand Slam title.

The 19-year-old lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and became the first teenager to win the French Open since 2020, when Iga Swiatek prevailed at 19. Because Andreeva is the younger of the two 19-year-olds, she is the youngest woman to win Roland Garros since 1992. That year an 18-year-old Monica Seles took the title in Paris, the third of three consecutive French Open victories for Seles after wins in 1990 and 1991 at ages 16 and 17.

Andreeva’s straight-sets victory ended the extraordinary run of qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who had rewritten the tournament’s history en route to the final. Chwalinska became the first qualifier, female or male, to reach the Roland Garros final in the Open Era. Ranked No. 114 in the WTA standings, she also became the lowest-ranked player to reach the title match on the terre battue in WTA rankings history.

The final scoreline reflected Andreeva’s control through the match, and the result marks a major milestone in her career with a first Grand Slam crown. The victory places her in a select group of teenagers who have won at Roland Garros and revives historical comparisons because of her age relative to past champions.

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Chwalinska’s run, from the qualifying draw to the championship match, was an unprecedented breakthrough for a player outside the top 100 and will be noted in the record books alongside the tournament’s longstanding traditions. Andreeva’s win adds a new chapter to Roland Garros history and confirms a changing landscape among the game’s youngest champions.

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Finals French Open Grand Slam

Unexpected Roland Garros final pits Mirra Andreeva against qualifier Maja Chwalinska

Mirra Andreeva faces qualifier Maja Chwalinska in an unexpected final; tactics and nerves decide now

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The women’s final at Roland Garros arrives without any of the four players many expected to contend. The tournament’s top four — Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff — did not reach the semifinals, leaving room for two first-time major finalists to meet.

Mirra Andreeva arrived as a dark horse. At 19 she has long been a mix of talent and volatility: capable of sublime form but not yet proven across a full Grand Slam run. In Paris she has found a new level. Since the fourth round Andreeva has leaned on a powerful serve and extended groundstrokes, combining pace, depth, spin and net clearance to construct a near-impenetrable baseline position. In her last two matches she steamrolled Sorana Cirstea and Marta Kostyuk, arriving in the title match in dominant form.

Across the net stands Maja Chwalinska, a qualifier ranked 114th who until this run was scarcely on many radars. The 24-year-old, 5-foot-5, with a loopy, underpowered serve, took attention after beating Zheng Qinwen and Elise Mertens by identical 6-4, 6-0 scores. She has also been noted for a moment earlier in the season when she placed an ice bag on Iga Swiatek’s head. Chwalinska admitted the run has been a surprise. “It’s definitely a big surprise for me, and I didn’t expect it,” she said after reaching the quarterfinals. Reflecting on her semifinal, she added, “I honestly don’t know what was going on in my head,” and described her reaction as shock.

The matchup will be a first meeting and the first major final for both players. They share baseline instincts, two-handed backhands and a reliance on topspin, but their methods diverge. Andreeva presses with relentless power and consistency; Chwalinska relies on variation — high loopy balls, side-spinning slice, sudden backhand drops and precise passing shots — to create openings. Andreeva acknowledged the novelty: “It’s going to be very entertaining, very interesting, as well, because obviously I have never played against her.”

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Two questions loom: will nerves influence either player on Chatrier, and can Chwalinska’s loops and chops and drops disrupt Andreeva’s current groove? The answers will determine who lifts the unexpected trophy.

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