OTW Extra Email Archive - March 2025
Notes from the Tour: Mums on Tour...
Thursday 13th March 2025
I’ve been keeping an eye on BELINDA BENCIC since she returned to the tour last October. And her form has been mightily impressive…
Bencic - who recently praised the WTA’s new maternity leave scheme - gave birth to her first child last April. Belinda didn’t play a competitive match from September 2023 - October 2024. But she returned to the sport as a new mother, and in great shape…
Unranked when she first reappeared, with the smart decision to play a few ‘warm up’ events for herself on the lower-tier ITF circuit last autumn. The former world no.4 finished last season with a final in Angers.
Back on the main tour in 2025, the current world no.58 has so far made the comeback look easy (which it surely isn’t)...
Here are Bencic’s tournament results so far this season:
January
WTA 500 Adelaide: 3 match wins, reached round of Last 16
Grand Slam, Australian Open: 3 match wins, reached Last 16
February
WTA 500 Abu Dhabi: 5 match wins, reached Final - Won @ 12/1
WTA 1000 Dubai: 2nd Round
March
WTA 1000 Indian Wells: 4 match wins, plays in Quarter Finals tonight…
Belinda started Indian Wells as a 50/1 shot last week. There’s another mum in the Quarter Finals at big prices, too…
ELINA SVITOLINA is another player who’s shown very impressive consistency since returning to the tour as a parent. Including some noteworthy runs at the Grand Slams…
After giving birth in October 2022, the Ukrainian also hit the ground running when she made her comeback, in spring 2023…
Again, as Bencic has since done, Elina started off on the ITF circuit, with a Semi Final in Saint-Malo in May 2023. Just a few weeks later, she was very much back in the bigtime…
Svitolina made the Quarter Finals at the French Open 2023, having gone off at rank outsider odds of 150/1. The former world no.3 then went one better at Wimbledon that summer, reaching the Semi Finals, from a tournament Outright starting price of 100/1+ once again.
The current world no.23, Elina is the highest-ranked mother on the WTA Tour right now. Age 30, she is continuing to go deep in big tournaments…
Svitolina plays in the WTA Indian Wells Quarter Finals this evening. She started the tournament at 66/1.
Back in 2019 - before motherhood - Bencic and Svitolina both made the Semi Finals here at Indian Wells
The next big tournament on the schedule is next week’s Miami Open - another WTA 1000 ‘Masters’ event. Both Belinda and Elina have also made the Semis in Miami before, in 2022 and 2021 respectively
When it comes to the biggest tournaments of them all…
Unlike other famous mums who have returned to the tour in recent years - think Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka (and before them, the last mother to win a Major, Kim Clijsters). Bencic and Svitolina had not won a Grand Slam title before they became mothers…
In fact, Belinda and Elina are both yet to reach a Final at any of the four ‘Slams: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see that change this summer, or in the next year or two…
Lookout for these two ladies, especially at fancy odds for the biggest tournaments…
P.S
Not a paid-up Ones to Watch member yet? To get all my big-odds Each Way tennis tournament picks - including the Miami Open next week - join my members-only service right here >>
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Oliver Upstone