Belinda Bencic, the 28-year-old Swiss player, has advanced to her first-ever Wimbledon semi-final after a hard-fought victory against Russia's Mirra Andreeva. Bencic secured the win in straight sets, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), in a match that lasted two hours and ten minutes. This is only the second time a Swiss woman has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, following Martina Hingis in 1997 and 1998.

Bencic's journey to the semi-final has been remarkable, especially considering she only recently returned to the WTA tour after giving birth to her daughter, Bella, in April 2024. Ranked outside the top 150 earlier in the year, she has climbed back into the top 20, showcasing her resilience and determination. Her comeback included reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open and winning the WTA 500 title in Abu Dhabi.

The match against Andreeva was tightly contested, with both sets decided by tiebreaks. Bencic's experience and composure proved crucial, as she made fewer unforced errors than her younger opponent. In the first set, Bencic secured an early lead but faced a resilient Andreeva, who fought back to force a tiebreak. Bencic dominated the tiebreak, winning it 7-3. The second set was equally tense, with Bencic missing four match points in the second set before ultimately clinching the victory in the tiebreak.

Bencic demonstrated her strong grass-court skills throughout the tournament. She has a winning record on grass, with the most tour-level match wins on the surface of any of the quarter-finalists this year. She also won six of her seven career grass-court quarter-finals. Bencic's comfort on the surface was evident in her quarter-final match, where she won 73% of her first-serve points.

Before her Wimbledon success, Bencic had been denied a quarter-final spot on three previous occasions, each time by a former World No. 1. This year, she overcame that hurdle by defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets to reach her first Wimbledon quarter-final. Bencic had lost to Alexandrova just two weeks prior in Bad Homburg.

In the semi-final, Bencic will face Iga Swiatek. This will be Bencic's second Grand Slam semi-final, with her first being at the US Open in 2019. Swiatek also reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time. Bencic has proven her ability to perform under pressure and her grass-court expertise. Her match against Swiatek is expected to be a thrilling encounter.