BelindaBencic

Her parents, Ivan and Dana, emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Switzerland in 1968 to flee the Warsaw Pact Invasion by the Soviet Union. She was born in Switzerland to Slovak parents at a time when Slovak-Swiss player Martina Hingis was one of the best tennis players in the world. Belinda began playing tennis at the age of 2 with Melanie Molitor's Tennis School (Hingis' mother) and started daily tennis training. When she was 6 years old, she spent 6 months training at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida where she won several under-10 tournaments. She dominated the junior circuit starting at a young age becoming the No. 1 junior at 16 and winning the French Open and Wimbledon Girls' Singles titles. The following year on the pro tour, she reached the US Open Women's Singles Quarterfinal and was named the WTA Newcomer of the year. In 2015 she won her first WTA Singles titles at Eastbourne International then the Canadian Open in Toronto. After suffering from a series of injuries, she worked her way back up to the top reaching her first Grand Slam Semifinal at the 2019 US Open, and capturing the Dubai Tennis Championships trophy. Growing up her idols were Martina Hingis and Roger Federer. In her spare time she enjoys watching movies, reading journals, and seeing her friends.