HAMBURG/STARNBERG, November 1, 2024

Belinda Bencic was candid in her assessment after her second-round loss to Anastasia Kulikova at the Hamburg Henssler at Home Ladies Cup, saying, “My legs are a little dead.”

The 27-year-old Swiss, who has made her return to the tour following maternity leave at this week’s ITF World Tennis Tour W75 event in Hamburg-Horn, had a strong first-round showing against defending champion Julia Avdeeva. However, in her match on Thursday, Bencic found the Finnish left-hander too challenging, losing 6-3, 6-4. Reflecting on the match, Bencic noted, “I had to run much more today than in the first match. I had good moments but also saw areas I need to work on.”

Bencic, the 2021 Olympic champion and former World No. 4, will continue her return to competition at an upcoming tournament in Luxembourg. She remains focused on being able to compete at the United Cup over the New Year period and the Australian Open in January.

Kulikova will next play Spanish qualifier Kaitlin Quevedo. Top seed Sonay Kartal of Great Britain leads the quarterfinals line-up. Fifth favourite Mona Barthel is the only German player left in the singles draw.

For the Hamburg Henssler at Home Ladies Cup results, please click here.