Wimbledon, England – Belinda Bencic has never stopped smiling.
From the moment after having obtained the match point in the second equality break of the day to win the victory 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on the seeded n ° 7 Mirra Andreeva, when she left the court a few moments later after her post-victory interview, the smile did not disappear from her face.
“It’s crazy, it’s incredible, it’s a dream come true,” said a radiant bencic while the love crowd looked at the central court. “I tried not to think about it at the match point. I am speechless. So happy. It’s just my second semi-final of a big slam overall, and the first at Wimbledon. So yes, just speechless, so happy.”
It was fifteen improbable for the non -series bencic, on the heels of an unlikely season overall. Once classified as high as n ° 4 and the single gold medalist at the 2020 Olympic Games, Bencic announced that it was pregnant in November 2023 and would be out of the way. After giving birth to her daughter Bella in April 2024, she returned to competition at the end of the year. While she initially played in mainly smaller level events, she returned to the WTA tour in January.
Bencic exceeded his own expectations early by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and winning the title at the Abu Dhabi Open 500 at the level in February. But she then had to withdraw from the French Open due to an injury, and played only one Grass short match before Wimbledon, so she was not exactly optimistic when the game started at the All England Club.
Through five games, however, Bencic was almost unstoppable. The 28 -year -old rocked an impressive victory after another. Then, she will play in just the second semi-final of her career, and first since 2019, on Thursday against five times major champion IGA Swiatek. Ranked outside the Top 1000 at the start of his return from maternity leave, Bencic should return to the top 20 in next week’s ranking.
“I’m very proud,” said Bencic on Wednesday. “In fact, my whole career, I didn’t say it much, but after having had Bella, I really tell myself every day, and I think it changes a lot. But of course, I must say that it is not only me, I could not do it without my incredible family and also my incredible team.
“It was beautiful to create these memories together and of course, playing very well is so incredible, but for me, it’s a bonus. I am generally really happy to be able to play again.”
After the main champions Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams returned to play after childbirth in 2017 and 2018, this seemed to inaugurate a baby boom during the WTA tour. The WTA even introduced a new maternity leave advantage earlier this year. There were nine mothers in the main draw in Wimbledon this year.
But there are always the physical requirements of pregnancy, and the constant nature and globetrotter of the tour presents a unique challenge. Parents on tour must provide their own help to provide childcare services during long days on site. It is expensive and can be exhausting and emotionally trying.
And there is no guarantee that a player will be able to return to the level he has reached before maternity leave. While she reached four major finals in her return, Williams, 35 at the time, was never able to win another slam title. Naomi Osaka, quadruple major champion, could not spend the third round in a slam since his return at the start of last season. Former major champions Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova made short feedback before announcing their retirement from the sport. (Kvitova lost in the first round in Wimbledon last week and will officially go after the US Open.)
Bencic was very aware of the difficulties of others – as well as the success of players like Elina Svitolina, who has reached a major semi -final and four quarter -finals since her return – but has always planned to return. She told ESPN that she had started slowly after Bella’s birth, just trying to feel like her again, before going back on things and getting on the ground.
Bencic knew that she had a little advantage because her husband, Martin Hromkovic, is also her fitness coach and travels with her. This meant that they would not have to be separated during the season and Bella could be with both parents. His mother also voluntary to accompany them for several games of the season.
Bencic felt energetic and healthy for his first ITF tournament in October, but she still did not know how she would do or what objectives she should even set.
“It was a bit of a step in darkness,” Bencic told ESPN. “I didn’t really know what to expect exactly. I just hoped that I could become at the same level … I was a little worried that tennis may have advanced a little and is even faster now, and people are used faster. Am I able to resist tempo and speed and everything? I didn’t know.”
Aside from persistent questions and self -doubt about the state of her game, she was no longer sure of how to make packaging for tournaments. As babies need a lot of equipment, Bencic found himself to constantly check the time for imminent destinations to determine the clothes that Bella would need. Once the 2025 season has started and Bencic knew that they would spend at least a month in Australia, she tried to anticipate how much Bella would grow and if they would be able to obtain the milk available in Switzerland on the other side of the world. (They couldn’t, so they were forced to store as much as they could.)
And of course, there was the problem of detergent, something that every parent of a young child knows well. They try to stay in houses with washing machines as much as possible.
“It is certainly the logistics of things that is the most difficult,” Bencic told ESPN. “You really have to think of everything. I feel like I am doing nothing for me these days, but I always surpass all the time. It’s delicate but everything is really doable, even if you forget something.”
While it was an act juggling behind the scenes, Bencic made it all easy during his round of 16 in Melbourne, beating Jelena Ostapenko in her first match and pushing Coco Gauff with three sets in the fourth round. A few weeks later, she won the title at Abu Dhabi, including a decisive victory over the Wimbledon champion in 2022, Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals. After dominating Ashlyn Krueger in the final, she transported Bella to the field and posed for photos with her and the trophy.
“It was a super nice and very special moment,” said Bencic. “She was with Martin in the media center during most of the match, but he put it in the carrier and brought him back for the third set. I think he felt like you need support. I saw them and it was really very nice. Taking these photos with her was so natural because we all did it together and I was so proud of all of us.”
Bella is often identified with Bencic’s practices. During a session early in the morning at Indian Wells in March, Bella was attached to Martin’s chest while he was standing near the closure and looked at Bencic to work on his service.
However, the return was not fluid. Bencic could not participate in the French Open due to an arm injury, taking a break from his momentum from the previous season. She returned to the Bad Homburg Open last month, but lost in her first round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-1, 6-2. The two clashed again in the round of 16 on Monday, but this time, it was Bencic who had the upper hand over Alexandrova, the seeded n ° 18, in two sets.
Despite this victory, Bencic, who had never gone to the fourth round to Wimbledon before, was the oppressed in the quarter-final against Andreeva, the 18-year-old phenomenon in the running to reach the second major semi-final of his young career. But, in front of a crowd which included Queen Camilla, Bencic remained calm and composed. Even in the most tendom moments of the match still so tight, Bencic forced Andreeva aggressiveness to make expensive errors. In equality breaks, where Andreeva appeared to his most vulnerable, Bencic let his experience guide her and remained in his match plan. It worked.
“I’m sad to have lost, but I just felt like she was playing well today,” said Andreeva disappointed after the match.
On Thursday, just a day removed from his biggest victory at the All England Club, Bencic will have the chance to reach his first grand final. She beat Swiatek only once in five years and lost in their last confrontation during the fourth round in Wimbledon in 2023, but she knows what she is capable of and is ready for the challenge. Swiatek, who congratulated Bencic’s return, also seemed to expect a tight match.
“It is sure that she has the match to play well on the grass well,” Swiatek said on Wednesday. “Yeah, I never doubted that she cannot come back after pregnancy. She seems to be in a good mood and she plays well.”
But winning or losing, Bencic knows that it will not change much about his daily life, or what matters most to her, because her results on the tennis court no longer dictate her happiness.
“Before, tennis was the most important thing for me and the center of my life,” Bencic told ESPN. “I was still constantly worried and I thought of the way I play and who I will play. Tennis was constantly in my mind. And now, sometimes I fall asleep and I forget that the next day, I have to play a match. My professional life and my private life are so separate at this stage. It’s really healthy for me now.”
