High-flying ended: Belinda Bencic fails in Wimbledon semifinals

(sda) Belinda Bencic must continue her wait for her first Grand Slam final appearance. The Swiss lost the Wimbledon semifinal to Iga Swiatek 2-6, 0-6.

Bencic had little to complain about on this Friday evening in London: Her opponent, the former world number one from Poland, played close to perfection. In the end, Swiatek hit 26 winners and made just 13 unforced errors. Swiatek impressively fended off the only two break chances Bencic had. After a good seventy minutes, the verdict was clear.

For the 27-year-old Bencic, it was her fourth defeat in five encounters with Swiatek, who is four years her junior. The two last met at Wimbledon: In 2023, Bencic lost in the round of 16 after missing two match points. Her desired revenge was unsuccessful. The Eastern Swiss, who became a mother for the first time 15 months ago, can be proud of her performance despite her decisive semifinal exit.

Her second Grand Slam semifinal appearance after 2019 (US Open) was surprising, as Bencic had only recovered from an injury shortly before the competition. However, that wasn't evident at the grass-court classic in London. In the round of 16, she defeated Yekaterina Alexandrova, to whom Bencic had clearly lost in her comeback two weeks earlier, and then doubled her lead in the quarterfinals against world number 7 Mirra Andreyeva. This will see her climb 15 places in the world rankings and return to the top 20.

Swiatek, meanwhile, is reaching the Wimbledon final for the first time in her career. She's aiming for her sixth Grand Slam title, following her four victories at the French Open (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024) and one at the US Open (2022). Her opponent will be Amanda Anisimova (WTA 12), also born in 2001 and reaching her first Grand Slam final.