Belinda Bencic, playing in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in nine appearances at the All England Club, upset Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Wednesday to reach her second Grand Slam semifinal and first in six years.
“I’m just speechless, honestly,” said Bencic, who was unseeded for the tournament. “So happy.”
The No. 7-seeded Andreeva, who was bidding to become the first 18-year-old in the women’s draw to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since Maria Sharapova in 2005, hadn’t dropped a set in four matches and had played one set past 4-all.
Bencic was one of nine mothers in the Wimbledon singles draw, but is the only one still in contention. She missed last year’s Wimbledon while she was on maternity leave, having given birth to her first child — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024.
She returned to competition last October and started the year ranked No. 489. With her performance at Wimbledon, she will reach the Top 20.
Bencic joined Martina Hingis as the only Swiss women to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in the Open era.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
