'There’s nothing I really regret': Belinda Bencic takes positives after tough loss to Iga Swiatek

Belinda Bencic is focusing on the positives from a remarkable couple of weeks at Wimbledon, despite her elimination in the semifinals against Iga Swiatek. The former World No. 4 reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, achieving this just months after returning to the courts.

It's worth remembering that Bencic missed the entire 2024 season due to her career break for maternity leave, returning at the beginning of 2025. She quickly impressed by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, and a couple of weeks later, she won the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open title.

This time at Wimbledon, Bencic likely displayed some of the best tennis she has shown in what has been an immensely positive year. The 28-year-old Swiss was outside the top-400 at the start of the year and has already secured her return to the top-20 as of Monday, with no points to defend for the remainder of the year.

However, Bencic had to bid farewell to her dream of winning a Grand Slam title after a convincing defeat to Swiatek. The Pole dominated the match from the start and sealed an undeniable 6-2, 6-0 victory. “Today was just a different level from Iga. She played amazing and I didn’t feel like she let me in the match for one second,” Bencic said. “There’s nothing I really regret. In the end, she was just too good, and I was a step too short.”

"Without a doubt, I take many positive things. I was in a very good mental state during this tournament. I didn't feel like I was playing brilliant tennis in all my matches, which gives me a bit more confidence than if I were on fire. If I can win matches without playing my best tennis, that gives me more confidence, and I definitely want to take advantage of it. I have achieved my goal of returning to the top 20. I am very motivated to keep climbing in the rankings and play my upcoming tournaments."

Bencic is once again taking a leading role in this stage of her career and will be one of the names to watch for the rest of the year, as she positions herself at 13th in the WTA Race. The Swiss will face her next challenges at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, where she will have another couple of chances to add a good number of points that will allow her to continue climbing in the rankings.