What a comeback this has been for the 28-year-old Swiss star, Belinda Bencic! In April 2024, she gave birth to her daughter Bella, and now in July 2025, she has become the first Swiss player to reach the Wimbledon singles semifinal since Roger Federer in 2019. She defeated the teenage sensation, Mirra Andreeva (no.7) 7-6(3),7-6(2) in the quarterfinal, and currently, she’s taking on the five-time major champion, Iga Swiatek, in the semis. Bencic has been struggling a bit to match Swiatek’s level in this match, and she’s already 6-2 down in the first set. Can she make a comeback in the second, or is it going to be a cakewalk for Iga Swiatek?

Well, we’ve to wait a bit to get this answer, but the thing that is making the Swiss fans more concerned is that Belinda Bencic‘s injury in her foot. During the second set of her quarterfinal match, she was spotted looking down at her foot and grabbing her toe several times. As per multiple reports, Bencic is playing her semifinal with a cracked left toenail. Speaking about this injury, after her previous match, she said, “I think it is my nail as always. They always crack. It’s the life of a tennis player. I did not want to take a medical time-out, so you don’t have to see this!”

In this match against Swiatek, she had, in fact, cut a hole in her shoe to get some relief from the pain. Can she overcome all of these and bring yet another favorable result from this match?

Time will tell! This is her first semifinal appearance at Wimbledon, and this itself means a lot to this super-mom. After her match against Andreeva, she was asked to reflect on her thoughts about the win. Replying to that, she said, “It’s crazy. It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true. Just speechless.” Her fans are now eager to witness yet another unbelievable moment! However, beating Swiatek on any surface is never an easy task, and her injury could just have worsened things now.

Talking about her injuries, well, Belinda Bencic has experienced foot and ankle injuries throughout her career. She had a similar toenail issue in the past as well, and during the Tokyo Olympics, she was even seen receiving treatment for a blister on her toe. Injuries have always been a part of her tennis journey, and perhaps, this wouldn’t shake her much, especially when she’s so close to fulfilling her dream at Wimbledon.

Talking about her frequent injuries, Belinda Bencic made a very interesting comment during the 21st episode of the Tennis Insider Club podcast in February this year. She said, “I had these injuries where I had one injury led to another injury, and I was out for quite a bit. And I feel like that almost helped me a little bit to understand why I play tennis, that I like to play tennis, before I’d almost felt like I had to be there.” It gave her a whole new perspective.

In this season, she has already won a title at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open. Can she clinch a big one in London? Well, we’ll see that, but Iga Swiatek has showered a few kind words on Belinda Bencic before this epic duel.

Iga Swiatek heaps praise on Belinda Bencic ahead of their do-or-die clash at Wimbledon

Only four in the Open Era have a longer gap between a first and second women’s singles SF at a Grand Slam event than Belinda Bencic (5 years 309 days). She’ll definitely be looking forward to making this run even more memorable with a title triumph. But things aren’t looking quite pleasant for the Swiss in this match against Iga Swiatek. She has faced the Pole four times in their careers, and Swiatek has a lead of 3-1 in their H2H record. Irrespective of the result of this match, Bencic has been quite impressive in this tournament.

Interestingly, before this, their previous meeting was at Wimbledon itself, but in 2023. Ahead of that match, Belinda Bencic even heaped praise on Iga Swiatek for her incredible talent. She said, “She’s (Swiatek) the best in the world, and she’s winning a lot of the matches. She is very consistent. I’m really up for the challenge. I’m excited to play with her. I think I’m a player that I play well against, you know, top players.” Bencic had also claimed that she thinks that no one moves in the court as good as Swiatek.

Two years after that, now it’s perhaps time for the Pole to return the favor. Just before their SF clash at the 2025 Wimbledon, even Iga Swiatek spoke about Belinda Bencic. She said, “I respect her a lot. I can’t even imagine how difficult it was to recover from pregnancy…She’s got her rhythm back. She has a game that can win on grass. I never doubted that she can come back after pregnancy. She seems like she’s in a good mood and she’s playing well.” Whoever wins this battle will face Amanda Anisimova in the final! Follow the Championships in real-time with EssentiallySports’ Live Blog updates.