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Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic, and Simona Waltert graced Switzerland’s ‘Sports Awards’ 2023 on Sunday, December 10.
The four players are the leading women of Swiss tennis and were honored as the 'team of the year' at the award ceremony. The accolade recognized the teams' success at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
All four players donned dazzling gowns and were felicitated with a trophy and bouquets. Belinda Bencic shared images from the event on Instagram, including one featuring goofy poses.
"Gala but make it 😈🥳 @jilteich @viktorija.golubic @simona.waltert," Bencic captioned the post.
At the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup, Bencic, Teichmann, Golubic, and Waltert played phenomenal tennis to emerge from the group stages. Switzerland then knocked out the star-studded Czech Republic, featuring Karolina Pliskova, Karolina Muchova, and Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-final.
In the final, Switzerland faced Australia. Belinda Bencic downed Ajla Tomjlanovic, and Jil Teichmann defeated Storm Sanders to crown their nation as the winners of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time.
At the 2023 Swiss Sports Awards, Alpine skiers Lara Gut-Behrami and Marco Odermatt won the titles of Female Athlete and Male Athlete of the Year for 2023. Soccer player and Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji took home the MVP trophy.
Belinda Bencic announces pregnancy
Belinda Bencic will be out of action on the WTA Tour for quite some time as she is expecting the birth of her first child with boyfriend Martin Hromkovic, her fitness coach and former Slovak football player. The couple has been together since November 2018. The former World No. 4 announced the news on Instagram on November 3.
In the post, the 26-year-old shared a lovely family picture with Hromkovic and Paula, their pet Rottweiler. The couple was also captured holding newborn booties. Bencic captioned the post:
“Excepting our little miracle soon! We can’t wait to meet you."
Bencic last played at the San Diego Open in September, losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening round.
2023 was a fruitful year for Bencic. She started the tour with a bang, winning the WTA 500 Adelaide International 1, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, lifting another 500-level title at the Abu Dhabi Open, and reaching the final of the WTA 500 Charleston Open.
She also played in the fourth round at the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. These results were enough for her to qualify for the WTA Elite Trophy, but she had to withdraw due to the pregnancy. The Swiss star finished 2023 as the World No. 17.
