Belinda Bencic

Belinda Bencic: Family and Consistency Behind Her Success

Tennis player Belinda Bencic was born on March 10, 1997, in Flawil and lives in Wollerau. She also spends time in Slovakia, as she holds Slovak citizenship as well. Her father, Ivan Bencic, moved to Switzerland with his parents from Czechoslovakia in 1968. Belinda Bencic is right-handed but plays her backhand with both hands. She started playing tennis at just two years old, and her breakthrough came at the 2014 US Open, where she reached the quarterfinals at just 17.

Belinda Bencic Comes from a Sports-Mad Family

Sport has always played a huge role in the Bencic family. Her father played ice hockey in Switzerland's top two leagues, while her mother, Dana Bencic, was a top-level handball player. Her grandfather played for the first team of HC Slovan Bratislava, the most successful ice hockey club in Slovakia. Belinda Bencic's brother Brian also plays tennis.

Bencic was born in Switzerland at a time when Martina Hingis was one of the best tennis players in the world — and, like Bencic, the daughter of two Slovak athletes. By the age of four, Belinda Bencic was already training an hour a day. She played her first tournament around that time, regularly facing older players, with her father encouraging her to win just two games per set.

Early Talent Development Pays Off

When Belinda Bencic was five, her father Ivan reached out to Melanie Molitor, Martina Hingis's mother and coach, and succeeded in bringing her on board as his daughter's coach. At the age of six, Belinda Bencic also spent six months at Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida. The investment in the young athlete's career paid off over the years.

Belinda Bencic reached the top of the junior world rankings at just 16, adding two junior Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the French Open. In 2015, the Swiss player claimed her first two WTA titles, starting with the grass-court event in Eastbourne. Next came the Canadian Open in Toronto, where she beat Serena Williams for the first time and went on to beat Simona Halep in the final. At that tournament, she defeated four of the then-top six players in the world.

Injuries and Comeback: Bencic Learns Every Side of the Sport

And her rise continued: in 2016, Bencic broke into the elite top ten. But then a difficult stretch began in the young Swiss player's career. Between 2016 and 2018, Bencic was plagued by a string of injuries. The worst of them required wrist surgery in 2017. Bencic had to take five months off and slid down the world rankings — even outside the top 300. But Bencic is a fighter. She worked hard on a successful comeback, and it paid off: within a year, she had climbed back into the world's top 50.

“Comeback Player of the Year”: Bencic Delivers in Style

That impressive comeback was capped off by the best season of Bencic's career to date. In 2019, the Swiss player won the Dubai Tennis Championships, among other titles, and reached her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. To top it off, she finished the year in the world's top ten. That performance impressed the tennis world: Bencic was awarded the WTA's “Comeback Player of the Year” award.

For a time, Bencic parted ways with her father as coach, but that phase didn't last long — the father-daughter duo is once again touring the world's tennis courts together. Last year, the top player reached the quarterfinals in Doha, St. Petersburg and Adelaide, helping her climb to No. 4 in the world.

Belinda Bencic Impresses with Sharp Tennis IQ

Belinda Bencic is often mentioned in the same breath as Martina Hingis, the former world No. 1. Both Swiss players have Slovak roots and were both coached by Melanie Molitor. Just like Hingis, Bencic also boasts a powerful backhand. Physically, Bencic is considered the more robust of the two, while Hingis was known for her greater agility. Bencic excels at taking the ball early, and experts also praise her sharp tennis IQ — she reads the game brilliantly and knows exactly how to unsettle an opponent. On top of that, Bencic can produce powerful, match-defining baseline shots. Even Roger Federer praised her return game when they teamed up at the Hopman Cup. She is a master at redirecting cross-court balls down the line.

Shop Belinda Bencic's Tennis Gear Online

Of course, our online shop also carries the gear Belinda Bencic wears at her tournaments. Belinda Bencic relies on products from the world's leading sports brand, Nike. That's why the Swiss player wears Nike tennis apparel. Whether it's a top, shirt, dress or sports bra, the logo of the US brand always features on the clothing Bencic wears in competition. Bencic also relies on Nike tennis shoes. At Tennis-Point, you'll of course also find the Yonex tennis rackets that are always by Bencic's side.