The 'unbelievable' comeback story of Belinda Bencic at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England -- Belinda Bencic never stopped smiling.

From the moment after she secured match point in the second tiebreak of the day to earn the 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory over No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva, to the time she left the court moments later following her post-victory interview, the smile didn't fade from her face.

"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."

It's been an improbable fortnight for the unseeded Bencic, on the heels of an improbable season overall. Once ranked as high as No. 4 and the gold medalist in singles at the 2020 Olympic Games, 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. But she then had to withdraw from the French Open due to injury, and only played in one grass-court match before Wimbledon, so she wasn't exactly optimistic as play got underway at the All England Club.

Through five matches, though, Bencic has been nearly unstoppable. The 28-year-old has rattled off one impressive win after another. 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.

"I'm very proud," Bencic said on Wednesday. "Actually, all my career, I didn't say it a lot to myself, but after having Bella, I really say it to myself every day, and I think that changes a lot. But of course, I have to say it's not only me, I wouldn't be able to do it without my amazing family and also my amazing team. We work so hard on the comeback and we are just enjoying life on tour with Bella traveling.

"It's been beautiful to create these memories together and obviously to play great is so amazing, but for me it's a bonus. I'm generally just really happy to be able to play again."

After major champions Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams returned to play after giving birth in 2017 and 2018, it seemed to usher in something of a baby boom on the WTA Tour. The WTA even introduced a new maternity leave benefit earlier this year. There were nine mothers in the main draw at Wimbledon this year.

But there are still the physical demands of pregnancy, and the nonstop, globetrotting nature of the tour presents a unique challenge. Parents on tour have to bring their own help to provide child care during the often long days on site. It's expensive and can be grueling and emotionally taxing.

And there's no guarantee a player will be able to return to the level they reached before maternity leave. While she reached four major finals in her return, Williams, age 35 at the time, famously was never able to capture another Slam title. Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, hasn't been able to get past the third round at a Slam since she came back at the start of last season. Fellow former major champions Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova made brief returns before announcing their retirements from the sport. (Kvitova lost in the first round at Wimbledon last week and will be officially walking away following the US Open.)

Bencic was keenly aware of others' struggles -- as well as the success of players like Elina Svitolina, who has reached a major semifinal and four quarterfinals since her comeback -- but always planned on returning. She told ESPN she started slowly after Bella's birth, just trying to feel like herself again, before ramping things back up and getting on the court.

Bencic knew she had somewhat of an advantage because her husband, Martin Hromkovic, is also her fitness coach and travels with her. It meant they wouldn't have to be apart during the season and Bella could be with both parents. Her mom also volunteered to accompany them for several parts of the season.

Bencic was feeling energized and healthy for her first ITF tournament in October, but she still didn't know how she would do or what goals she should even set for herself.

"It was a little bit a step in the dark," Bencic said to ESPN. "I didn't really know what to expect exactly. I was just hoping that I can get to the same level again ... I was a little bit concerned that maybe tennis has moved a little forward and is even faster now, and people are serving faster. Am I going to be able to hold up with the tempo and the speed and everything? I didn't know."

Aside from the lingering questions and self-doubt about the state of her game, she wasn't even sure how to pack for tournaments anymore. As babies require a lot of gear, Bencic found herself constantly checking the weather of impending destinations to determine what clothes Bella would need. Once the 2025 season began, and Bencic knew they would be spending at least a month in Australia, she tried to anticipate how much Bella would grow and if they would be able to get the milk that's available in Switzerland on the other side of the world. (They couldn't, so they were forced to stockpile as much as they could.)

And of course there was the laundry issue, something that every parent of a young child knows well. They try to stay in houses with washing machines as much as possible.

"It's definitely the logistics of things that's the hardest," Bencic told ESPN. "You have to really think about everything. I feel like I bring nothing for myself these days but I'm still overpacking all the time. It's tricky but everything is doable really, even if you forget something."

While it was a juggling act behind the scenes, Bencic made it all look easy during her round of 16 run in Melbourne, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in her opener and pushing Coco Gauff to three sets in the fourth round. Just weeks later, she won the title in Abu Dhabi, including a decisive win over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. After she topped Ashlyn Krueger in the final, she carried Bella onto the court and posed for photos with her and the trophy.

"It was a super nice, very special moment," Bencic said. "She was up with Martin in the media center for most of the match but he put her in the carrier and brought her down for the third set. I think he felt like I needed support. I saw them and it really was so nice. Taking those pictures with her felt so natural because we all really did it together and I was so proud of all of us."

Bella is often spotted at Bencic's practices. During one early morning session at Indian Wells in March, Bella was strapped onto Martin's chest as he stood by the fence and watched Bencic work on her serve.

The comeback hasn't been all smooth, however. Bencic was unable to participate at the French Open due to an arm injury, pausing her earlier-season momentum. She made her return at the Bad Homburg Open last month but lost in her first-round match to Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-1, 6-2. The two faced each other again in the round of 16 on Monday but this time it was Bencic who got the better of Alexandrova, the No. 18 seed, in straight sets.

Despite that victory, Bencic, who had never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon before, was the underdog in the quarterfinals against Andreeva, the 18-year-old phenom vying to reach the second major semifinal of her young career. But, in front of a crowd that included Queen Camilla, Bencic remained calm and composed. Even in the tensest moments of the ever-so-tight match, Bencic forced the more aggressive Andreeva to commit costly errors. In the tiebreaks, where Andreeva appeared at her most vulnerable, Bencic let her experience guide her and stuck to her game plan. It worked.

"I am sad that I lost, but I just felt like she was playing good today," a disappointed Andreeva said after the match.

On Thursday, just one day removed from her biggest victory at the All England Club, Bencic will have the chance to reach her first major final. She's beaten Swiatek just once in five meetings, and lost in their most recent clash in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023, but she knows what she's capable of and is ready for the challenge. Swiatek, who praised Bencic's return, seemed to be expecting a close match as well.

"For sure she has the game to play well here on grass," Swiatek said on Wednesday. "Yeah, I never doubted that she can't come back after pregnancy. She seems like she's in a good mood and she's playing well."

But win or lose, Bencic knows it won't change much about her daily life, or what matters most to her, as her results on the tennis court no longer dictate her happiness.

"Before, tennis was the most important thing to me and the center of my life," Bencic told ESPN. "I was always constantly worrying and thinking about how I'm playing and who I'm going to play. Tennis was on my mind constantly. And now sometimes I go to sleep and I forget that the next day I have to play a match. My work life and my private life are so separated at this point. It feels really healthy to me now."