History of Belinda Bencic in Timeline

Belinda Bencic is a Swiss professional tennis player who reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in February 2020. She has won ten singles titles, most notably a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Additionally, she has secured two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, marking a successful career across both singles and doubles disciplines.

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Full Timeline

1968: Family Emigration to Switzerland

In 1968, Belinda Bencic's father's family emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Switzerland to escape the Warsaw Pact invasion by the Soviet Union.

1988: Tennis Returns to the Olympic Games

In 1988, tennis returned as an Olympic sport. Belinda Bencic became the fifth player to reach two finals at the same Olympic event since then.

1994: Martina Hingis' Junior Grand Slam Wins

In 1994, Martina Hingis won two junior grand slam titles.

1996: Amélie Mauresmo's French Open and Wimbledon wins

In 1996, Amélie Mauresmo won the girls' singles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Belinda Bencic became the first player to repeat this since Mauresmo.

March 1997: Belinda Bencic's Birth

On March 1997, Belinda Bencic was born. She is a Swiss professional tennis player.

1997: Martina Hingis at US Open

In 1997, Martina Hingis was the youngest quarterfinalist at the US Open.

2004: Start of Coaching with Molitor

In 2004, Belinda Bencic began daily coaching sessions with Melanie Molitor, Martina Hingis's mother.

2004: Move to Wollerau

In 2004, when Belinda Bencic was seven years old, her family moved to Wollerau, where Melanie Molitor had just opened up her own academy, so that she could train there every day.

2009: Caroline Wozniacki in Top 10

In 2009, Caroline Wozniacki was the last teenager in the top 10 of the WTA rankings before Bencic.

2010: ITF Junior Circuit Debut

In 2010, at the age of 13, Belinda Bencic began competing on the ITF Junior Circuit, reaching the final in her debut event at the Grade 5 Luzern Junior Competition in Switzerland.

March 2011: First Professional Tournament

In March 2011, shortly after her 14th birthday, Belinda Bencic entered her first professional tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit in Fällanden, Switzerland, reaching the quarterfinals.

2011: Adidas Endorsement

In 2011, Belinda Bencic began being endorsed by Adidas for clothing and footwear.

2012: End of Molitor Coaching

In 2012, Melanie Molitor stopped coaching Belinda Bencic daily, and her father Ivan became her primary coach again.

2012: Fed Cup Debut

In 2012, at the age of 14, Belinda Bencic made her debut for the Switzerland Fed Cup team, playing in two doubles matches.

2012: Grade 1 Titles and Junior Grand Slam Debut

In early 2012, Belinda Bencic won two high-level Grade 1 events and made her junior Grand Slam debut, also finishing runner-up in doubles at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

May 2013: Return to Junior Tour and Win Streak

In May 2013, Belinda Bencic returned to the junior tour, winning her first five tournaments of the year and extending her win streak in singles to 39 matches.

2013: WTA Main Draw Debut and Top 200 Ranking

In 2013, Belinda Bencic made her WTA Tour main draw debut and finished the year ranked at No. 184, improving from No. 612 in January.

2013: Junior Major Singles Titles

In 2013, Belinda Bencic, a former junior world No. 1, won two junior major singles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.

2014: Grand Slam Debut and Top 100 Debut

In 2014, Belinda Bencic made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, reached the semifinals at the Charleston Open, made her top-100 debut, and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open.

2014: US Open Quarterfinalist

In 2014, Belinda Bencic made her breakthrough at the US Open, becoming the youngest quarterfinalist since Martina Hingis in 1997.

2014: First Live Rubbers in Fed Cup

In 2014, Belinda Bencic played in her first live rubbers in the Fed Cup, winning both of her singles matches against France.

2015: Yonex 'Top-to-Toe' Deal

In 2015, Belinda Bencic signed a 'top-to-toe' endorsement deal with Yonex, receiving clothing and footwear along with racquets from the company.

2015: First WTA Tour Titles

In 2015, Belinda Bencic won her first two WTA Tour titles, including the Canadian Open where she defeated four of the top six players in the world.

2015: First WTA Title at Eastbourne International

In 2015, after a struggling first half of the year, Belinda Bencic won her first WTA title at the Eastbourne International over Agnieszka Radwańska and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.

June 2016: Return to Top 10

In June 2016, Bencic returned to the top 10 for the first time since then, after a strong performance at the US Open.

2016: Start of Injury Struggles

From 2016, Belinda Bencic struggled with a variety of injuries, causing her ranking to drop.

2016: Skipped Rio Olympics

In 2016, Bencic had to skip the Rio Olympics due to injury.

2016: Fed Cup Semifinals and Victory Over Germany

In 2016, Switzerland, led by Belinda Bencic, made it to the Fed Cup semifinals. Bencic won both of her singles matches against Germany and the decisive doubles rubber.

2017: Hopman Cup Second Place

In 2017, Belinda Bencic and Roger Federer finished in second place in their round robin group at the Hopman Cup.

2017: Wrist Surgery and Comeback

In 2017, Belinda Bencic underwent wrist surgery in April and returned to the tour in September, winning multiple tournaments and moving back into the top 100 by the end of the year.

2017: Fed Cup Semifinals

In 2017, Switzerland reached the Fed Cup semifinals, with Belinda Bencic splitting her two singles matches against France.

2017: Hiring Iain Hughes

In late 2017, Belinda Bencic hired Iain Hughes as her coach during her recovery from wrist surgery.

2018: First Hopman Cup Title

In 2018, Belinda Bencic and Roger Federer won the Hopman Cup, defeating Germany in the final after winning all nine of their round robin rubbers.

2018: Relationship with Martin Hromkovič

In 2018, Belinda Bencic began dating fitness trainer and former Inter Bratislava footballer Martin Hromkovič from Slovakia.

2018: Fed Cup Elimination

In 2018, Switzerland was eliminated from the Fed Cup by the Czech Republic, with Belinda Bencic losing both of her singles matches.

2018: Coaching changes in 2018

In 2018, Vladimír Pláteník coached Belinda Bencic from Wimbledon in July until mid-October, after which her father returned as her main coach.

2018: Nike Endorsement

In 2018, upon her return to professional tennis after an injury layoff, Belinda Bencic became endorsed by Nike for clothing and footwear.

2018: Continued Injury Struggles

Through 2018, Belinda Bencic continued to struggle with a variety of injuries, causing her ranking to drop outside the top 300.

2019: Second Consecutive Hopman Cup Title

In 2019, Belinda Bencic and Roger Federer won their second consecutive Hopman Cup, defeating Germany in a rematch of the previous year's final.

2019: Strong Start and Dubai Championships Win

In 2019, Belinda Bencic had a strong start, reaching the semifinals at the Hobart International and the third round at the Australian Open. She won the Dubai Championships, defeating four top-ten players: Aryna Sabalenka, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina, and Petra Kvitová.

2019: Best Season to Date

In 2019, Belinda Bencic had her best season to date, winning her second Premier-5 title at the Dubai Championships, reaching her first major semifinal at the US Open, qualifying for her first WTA Finals, and finishing the year inside the top 10.

2019: WTA 500 Title in Moscow

In 2019, Belinda Bencic won a title at the WTA 500-level event in Moscow.

2019: Drop in Ranking After Red Rock Pro Open Win

In 2019, after winning the $80k title at the Red Rock Pro Open in Las Vegas, Belinda Bencic still dropped from inside to No. 54 in the rankings by the start of the year.

February 2020: Career-High Singles Ranking

In February 2020, Belinda Bencic achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4.

September 2020: Return to Top 10 WTA Ranking

In September 2020, Belinda Bencic returned to the top 10 in the WTA rankings following her performance in Adelaide.

2020: Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics

In 2020, at the Tokyo Olympics, Belinda Bencic won the gold medal in singles, defeating Markéta Vondroušová, becoming the first Swiss woman to achieve this. She also won a silver medal in women's doubles with Viktorija Golubic.

February 2021: Adelaide International Final

In February 2021, Belinda Bencic reached the final of the WTA 500 Adelaide International event.

2021: Gold Medal at Tokyo Olympics

In 2021, Belinda Bencic won her biggest career title by claiming the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, also winning silver in the women's doubles.

2021: Olympic Gold and Silver Medals

In 2021, Belinda Bencic won the gold medal in Women's Singles and the silver medal in Women's Doubles with Viktorija Golubic at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

July 2022: Alpian Brand Ambassador

In July 2022, Belinda Bencic became a brand ambassador and honorary Chief Inspiration Officer for Alpian, a Swiss digital private bank.

2022: Billie Jean King Cup Victory

In 2022, team Switzerland, including Belinda Bencic, won the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time, defeating Canada and Italy in Group A, and then the Czech Republic and Australia in the semi-final and final respectively.

April 2023: Coaching Change

In April 2023, Belinda Bencic ended her coaching arrangement with Russian tennis player Dmitry Tursunov.

September 2023: Maternity Leave

In September 2023, Belinda Bencic began a maternity leave.

2023: Asics Endorsement

In 2023, Belinda Bencic switched to Asics for her clothing and footwear endorsements.

February 2024: Ranking Drop

In February 2024, Belinda Bencic was outside of the Top 50 of the WTA Rankings.

April 2024: Marriage and Birth of Daughter

In April 2024, Belinda Bencic married Martin Hromkovič in St. Gallen, and their daughter Bella was born that same month.

December 2024: WTA Singles Ranking Improvement

In December 2024, despite losing in the Open Angers Arena Loire championship match, Belinda Bencic moved up more than 400 places in the WTA singles rankings and back into the top 500 at world No. 481 on December 9, 2024.

2024: Return to Tour

In 2024, Belinda Bencic returned to the tour after maternity leave.

February 2025: Abu Dhabi Open Victory and Top Swiss Player

In February 2025, Belinda Bencic won the Abu Dhabi Open, defeating Ashlyn Krueger in the final. As a result, on February 10, 2025 Bencic moved up 92 places in the WTA rankings to world No. 65, reclaiming the position as the top Swiss player.

March 2025: Indian Wells Quarterfinals and Top 50 Return

In March 2025, Belinda Bencic reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, leading to her return to the world's top 50 for the first time since February 2024, moving up to No. 45 in the WTA rankings on March 17, 2025.

2025: United Cup and Adelaide International Participation

In 2025, Belinda Bencic started her season representing Switzerland at the United Cup, where she won against France. She also qualified for the Adelaide International but lost in the second round to Liudmila Samsonova.

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