Belinda Bencic: A Swiss player returns to the top ten for the first time since her birth

When Bencic debuted in the top 10 in 2016 – when she was just 18 – she became the first teenager in the top 10 of the WTA singles rankings since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

However, it was not until five years later that she won her first major title, defeating Marketa Vondrousova in the final of the Tokyo Olympics to take the gold medal.

A handful of titles at WTA Tour level followed in 2022 and 2023, but her pregnancy meant she missed defending her Olympic gold in Paris.

By the time Bencic returned from maternity leave in October 2024, she had fallen to 1,213th in the world.

But less than four months later, Bencic was back to her best, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open before winning the Abu Dhabi Open, which she celebrated with Bella in one arm and the trophy in the other.

Her deep run at Wimbledon in July – which ended in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual champion Iga Swiatek – returned her to the world’s top 20, and she claimed her second title of the year at the Pan Pacific Open in October.

“I see myself as a mother first, then a tennis player,” she said during Wimbledon. “And obviously my priorities are with my family.”