By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, February 2, 2026Photo credit score: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
Mom’s Day arrived early on the WTA Tour—and girls’s tennis is celebrating.
Belinda Bencic and Elina Svitolina have in the present day made historical past by marking the primary time two moms are ranked contained in the Prime 10, the WTA Tour introduced in the present day.
Switzerland’s Bencic, the United Cup MVP final month, returned to the elite rating bracket in mid-January for the primary time since stepping away from the courtroom in September 2023 to present start to daughter Bella.
“Coming again to the WTA Prime 10 one yr after returning to competitors after maternity go away is one thing I’m extremely happy with,” Bencic mentioned. “Only a few individuals know or have skilled how tough that journey is, however my household, my group and I’ve put all of our vitality, work and dedication into it to perform this purpose.
“They deserve as a lot credit score as anybody, and I’m extremely grateful for his or her help alongside the way in which.”
Elina Svitolina, who crushed Coco Gauff in a 59-minute thrashing to succeed in the Australian Open semifinals, joins Bencic within the Prime 10.
Ukrainian Svitolina, mother to daughter Skai, made the unimaginable AO semifinal run to create this landmark second which sees two moms concurrently ranked contained in the Prime 10 for the primary time in WTA historical past.
“It’s a dream to return to the WTA Prime 10 and doing it as a mom means a lot to me,” Svitolina mentioned. “I’m happy with my combat and resilience and I can’t thank the followers sufficient for his or her unimaginable help.”
The WTA introduced “to foster a sporting setting the place motherhood and elite efficiency should not seen as competing decisions, the WTA has launched a number of first-of-its-kind maternity initiatives in current seasons, with each Bencic and Svitolina profiting from the Particular Rating Rule for returning moms.”
