(VIDEO) Belinda Bencic’s hilarious mid-match phone mishap steals the show in Abu Dhabi
WTA
Belinda Bencic provided a hilarious blooper during her Abu Dhabi Open semifinal match against Elena Rybakina when she accidentally interrupted play due to her phone alarm going off. In complete silence on the court, just as the Swiss star was preparing to serve, the unexpected sound broke the concentration.
The amusing moment happened with the score at 3-6, 2-0, right after Bencic had secured a crucial break to take the lead in the second set. The former world No. 4 staged a comeback from a set down, continuing her impressive form since returning to the tour after giving birth in April 2024.
Bencic accidentally stops play with phone alarm
Bencic now boasts a 10-2 record this season and has reached her first final of the year—her first in two years. She will aim to capture her first title since 2023, which also happened to be at the Abu Dhabi Open.
Facing the 2022 Wimbledon champion, Belinda Bencic provided a moment of pure comedy that drew laughter and applause from the crowd when her serve was interrupted by a phone alarm. However, the sound wasn’t coming from the stands—it was from Bencic’s own bag, as her phone had started ringing.
Despite the unexpected incident, Bencic quickly regained focus and held her serve. She ultimately secured a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory, guaranteeing her return to the top 100 just three WTA tournaments into her comeback. This is a remarkable rise considering she was ranked world No. 1447 just five months ago.
In the final, Bencic will face surprise contender Ashlyn Krueger, who has also been in stellar form this season. Krueger advanced after defeating 20-year-old Czech Linda Noskova in straight sets.
Belinda Bencic's phone went off during her match against Rybakina in Abu Dhabi 😂 pic.twitter.com/CwzpXSQrgM
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 7, 2025
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- Bencic is all business right now. If Rybakina is the ice queen, then Bencic is Antarctica—colder, sharper, and seemingly unstoppable. 🔥❄️MrAndreeva07-02-2025
- Creepy.
mandoist07-02-2025 - Ouch!!mandoist07-02-2025
- they need to change the rules on the WTA to limit wildcards more effectively like they have on the ATPSososo06-02-2025
- This is just getting beyond ridiculous!! Not to mention unsportsmanlike and unfair to serious up & coming contenders.mandoist06-02-2025
- No, writer, we were not "stunned". If you knew your business you would have been aware of her statement last weekend re: her knee and retirement. The main take-away here is that Simona went out on her own terms. She surely wanted to play again after WTA & ITIA screwed her out of her final productive seasons. Personally, I believed she was going to make this announcement when I saw the President and his family in their box seats. Good for Simone -- now she can move on to other things as she said she would.mandoist04-02-2025
- It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025 - "If Novak did this, he would be defaulted for life. WTF." 🤣 WTF sounds like What Tennis Fury?! What Tennis Flurry??! I mean, se-rious-ly, it was actually the unfairness of the silly umpire's decision that is the issue here! Further, how come it was Gurin & his team who got disqualified? If this kind of thing happens in soccer, it would be the other guy getting the yellow or red card! Because after all, it was the Belgian who's foul it was so why then penalize the opponents for something they didn't instigate? Fouls in both basketball and soccer are read as a hinderance that has been caused by the player who INITIALLY instigated the hinderance. In this case, okay, it is tennis, but while the precise rules are different to either soccer or basketball, the same type of recognition as to whoever instigates a hinderance should apply, and in this case, it was the Belgian player.Sueiyin04-02-2025
- Medvedev talking to his form here. "Some actual deep problem." 🤣😂🤣MrAndreeva03-02-2025
- "Hopefully, the team around her will help... " Actually, the lack thereof seems to have been part of the problem(s). Another possibility is that, while dealing with legitimate surgeries, withdrawing, and otherwise passing on events, the competition has stepped-up in intensity while she was busy with traveling, photo shoots, and TV commercials.mandoist03-02-2025
