Belinda Bencic secured a victory over No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva, winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) at Wimbledon. Following her win, Bencic expressed joy about reaching her second Grand Slam semifinal and her first at Wimbledon. After announcing her pregnancy in November 2023, she gave birth to her daughter Bella in April 2024 and returned to competition later that year. Despite entering Wimbledon ranked outside of the top 1000, Bencic has achieved impressive results, including a title at the Abu Dhabi Open and four match wins at Wimbledon, setting up a semifinal against Iga Swiatek.
"It's crazy, it's unbelievable, it's a dream come true," a beaming Bencic said as the enamored crowd looked on at Centre Court. "I tried not to think about it at the match point. I'm speechless. So happy. It's just my second semifinal of a Grand Slam overall, and the first one at Wimbledon. So yeah, just speechless, so happy."
Bencic announced she was pregnant in November 2023 and would be sidelined indefinitely. After giving birth to daughter Bella in April 2024, she returned to competition at the end of the year.
While she initially played in mostly smaller, ITF-level events, she came back to the WTA Tour in January. Bencic exceeded her own expectations early by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and winning the title at the 500-level Abu Dhabi Open in February.
Next, she will play in just the second semifinal of her career, and first since 2019, on Thursday against five-time major champion Iga Swiatek. Ranked outside of the top 1000 at the start of her comeback from maternity leave, Bencic is expected to return to the top 20 in next week's rankings.
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