When asked to predict potential first-time Grand Slam winners on the women’s side, the name Belinda Bencic continues to pop up.
The Swiss returned from maternity leave on a mission in 2025, climing from outside of the Top 900 to No.11 in the world by the end of the season.
She’s since started 2026 on a tear, winning her first six matches – five at the United Cup, including a win over Iga Swiatek – and landing in the second round in Melbourne, where she’ll face 19-year-old qualifier Nikola Bartunkova next.
Bencic, known for her uncanny ability to cut off the corners and take the ball on the rise, is 28 years old. Could the Swiss, a former world No.4 with ten singles titles to her name, be coming into her best years as a pro?
Judging from her tennis, and her own perception of her tennis, it could be the case.
Asked what could be the cause of her recent run of dominance, Bencic talked of all the improvements she has made to her game. First and foremost, the movement that facilitates her ability to take time away from her opponents by living inside the baseline during rallies. No one else in women’s tennis does it quite the way Bencic does, but it’s an extremely demanding style to play. Fitness is paramount, and Bencisc lists movement as her biggest improvement.
“I think I definitely improved in my movement I would say,” she told reporters after defeating Katier Boulter 6-0, 7-5 on Day 3.
Bencic says her serve and her net game have improved as well.
“I also think my serve got more steady, better. I would say my net game, as well. I can see that mostly in practice. I still try to incorporate it a little bit more in matches. I mean, obviously I’m very good at taking the swing volleys. But I think the regular volley also got better.”
If we call Bencic’s post maternity leave tennis her second career, it’s possible to believe that all her improvements could take her back to the Top-5 and maybe even higher. Last year’s first-time Grand Slam winner was Madison Keys, who finally came into her own on the sports’ biggest stage at 29. Maybe Bencic will be this year’s coming of age story.
We certainly wouldn’t rule it out. She was two wins from getting there last year at Wimbledon, less than a year into her comeback. Of course the odds are difficult in a world where Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff populate the top three, but don’t sleep on Bencic, not when she’s playing this well and improving at a rapid clip.
The Swiss will turn 29 in March – based on her suddenly unbeatable form, she could even make it to the promised land before that.
