’22 Champ Belinda Bencic Balancing Motherhood, Tour Life
NEW PERSPECTIVE BENEFITTING ‘GRATEFUL’ WORLD NO. 12
So much has happened since a 17-year-old Belinda Bencic reached her first WTA Tour semifinal in Charleston, S.C., back in 2014. She’s gone on to climb as high as No. 4 in the world, win an Olympic gold medal, return to the Lowcountry to win it all, become a wife and a mother, etc.
As the Swiss baseliner embarks on her ninth Credit One Charleston Open this week, we’re hit with the realization that we’ve seen her grow up, seen her come of age, in real time. Asked on Monday, if she could go back in time, would she have any words of advice for her teenage self, Bencic had plenty of suggestions.
“Enjoy it all a little bit more,” she told the gathered media at LTP Daniel Island. “It went quicker than I thought. Everyone told me that it would go very quickly, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, I have time.’ Find the right people around you. Everyone tries that, but really put more thought into building your team and improving yourself, your tennis. I think you can never stop improving. If you’re 35, 40 years old, you can still make things better. I think it’s also really important to not look at the results. Try to develop your game, even if that means that you have good results on the tour a bit later. And try to go out for dinner more, try to go out to see things more.”
“I don’t have so much time to think about tennis, and maybe that’s a good thing for me. I’m not overthinking stuff.” — Belinda Bencic
Maybe it’s the everyday presence of her two-year-old daughter, Bella, who’s been spotted out on the practice courts with her mom this week, that has prompted this new perspective.
“I choose to bring Bella to every tournament. I spend so much time with her,” said Bencic, 29. “I’m really grateful I have this opportunity, to have people around me that help me to do that, to be able to play and to bring Bella. Literally, I wake up to her every morning, I put her to sleep every night. It’s a huge privilege to do that and still be able to kind of continue in my job.”
Bencic returned to competitive tennis six months after giving birth to her daughter in April 2024. It didn’t take long for her to reacclimate herself. In 2025, she skyrocketed from No. 421 to No. 11 in the year-end rankings, a perfect two-for-two in finals with titles in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo. She also reached her second career Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. She arrived in Charleston on the heels of a quarterfinal showing at the Miami Open.
“Of course, I didn’t know how it was going to be before having a baby, but now I would say it’s eased it up for me a little bit, because I can separate my private life and my professional life much more,” said the 2022 Credit One Charleston Open winner, who’s coached by Iain Hughes. “I don’t have so much time to think about tennis, and maybe that’s a good thing for me. I’m not overthinking stuff. I’m really just more productive on the practice court. I practice less. I probably put less effort into being a professional tennis player, and somehow it’s working for the better.”
