Belinda Bencic takes time for an interview at Zurich Airport.Bild: keystone
Interview
After the birth of her daughter, Belinda Bencic makes a strong comeback. The Olympic champion talks about 2021 children on planes, family planning, her fans and plans for next year.
26.11.2025, 09:3526.11.2025, 09:35
Marcel hauck / keystone-sda
After two weeks of vacation in the Maldives, Belinda Bencic is back in full swing. She has just returned home from training in Monaco. A meeting at the airport is best. She makes herself comfortable in the café in the arrivals hall in a white sweater with a four-leaf clover pendant. The 28-year-old from Eastern Switzerland is definitely happy with her first season after the birth of daughter Bella in April 2024. She won two tournaments, reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and is already number 11 in the world again.
Belinda Bencic, welcome back to Switzerland. Given the weather, would you have preferred to stay in the south?
Belinda Bencic: (laughs) No, not at all. It snows quite heavily in certain places and I like to see snow.
Belinda Bencic spent her vacation in the Maldives.
What is it actually like when you travel? Do people often approach you?
Every now and then, but when I’m not in tennis clothes, not so much. Then it doesn’t even occur to people. In Switzerland, people tend to look rather than speak to you anyway.
“But I have no problem with someone coming and asking something.”
After the conversation with Keystone-SDA, Bencic is asked for a few photos in the café. A request that she is happy to comply with.
Does it make a difference if you travel with your daughter?
I don’t know at all. (thinks) I’m so focused on my child that I don’t even pay much attention to people. But I have no problem if someone comes and asks something. The worst thing is when you have just bitten off something and put it in your mouth. This has happened a lot recently in China and Japan. There were often fans at the breakfast buffet, they were definitely less reserved and just made their videos and so on. The people there are very enthusiastic about tennis anyway.
If you then took your daughter Bella onto the pitch at the award ceremony in Tokyo, was that a conscious decision or did it come more spontaneously?
It was a special moment. I noticed how proud everyone is of me and how we do everything. It’s a gratitude that we feel as a family that we have such a good situation that everything works out.
All tournament victories of Belinda Bencic
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All tournament victories of Belinda Bencic
Tokio 2025: Bencic – Noskova 6:2, 6:3
those: keystone / kiyoshi ota
It’s not always easy with children.
At the beginning I also thought that this was private and that I wouldn’t show pictures everywhere. But I think that’s just what we do. We just live our lives, and there are a lot of media and photographers. It’s a life in public, there are pluses and minuses. But if Martin (Hromkovic, her husband) and Bella are next to the court anyway, it would be strange for me not to go to them. And at some point you say to yourself, we can’t hide them. We don’t have a plan or anything, we just do it in the flow.
How much does Bella notice, for example from all the traveling?
I think a child who is one and a half years old doesn’t really need anything more than his parents. She doesn’t really care where she wakes up now, whether it’s New York, Tokyo or wherever. The most important thing is that she travels well and that flying is good.
“I always need three days to switch off mentally. To put down your cell phone, to do nothing, to read a book.”
You probably fly in business class from time to time. Some say this shouldn’t be allowed with children. Have you had any negative reactions yet?
No, and I don’t find that problematic either. Flying is part of public transport, if you don’t want to have children with you, you have to take a private plane. Of course you have to make sure that children don’t disturb the other passengers too much, but I’ve never had a bad conscience. But I also have to say that Bella is doing very well.
In the fall you had a mammoth program and then treated yourself to a ten-day vacation in the Maldives with your husband – without your little daughter. Can you switch off completely or do you always have to train a bit?
I always need three days to switch off mentally. To put down your phone, to do nothing, to read a book. I always do a bit of fitness training during the holidays, it’s a part of my job, I would say.
Otherwise the re-entry would be too brutal.
Exactly. But that’s more like jogging in the morning or doing weight exercises. I’ve been used to this my whole life, and I somehow need it to have a good start to the day.
How much did you miss your daughter?
I think it’s the same for every mom. Every mommy misses her child every second when she is not with her. But the holidays were extremely good for us. Also that we had a bit of togetherness and a bit of a break before next year, because of course things will continue in the same way and we will travel everywhere together. Then there is the exception that I travel alone for a week. This is simply my job and I have to be professional.
Still, you see your daughter more on days with three hours of training than mothers with a normal job.
(laughs) It’s more like six hours of training. But of course that is a huge privilege. I can take her to the tennis court, to the gym, our setup is really perfect. The huge support from the whole family, especially from grandmas and grandpas, is also worth its weight in gold.
Always traveling as a family: Belinda Bencic, husband Martin Hromkovic and daughter Bella.
Could you imagine becoming a mother again and then starting a second comeback?
No.
«The first goal is certainly to attack the top ten. It doesn’t take much more, but it’s still another step.”
But after the end of your career?
Sure, definitely that.
Now the first Christmas is approaching, which Bella may already be experiencing somewhat consciously.
(laughs) «Yes, on the plane. We are leaving on December 24th and are in China on the 25th, where there is an exhibition with Swiatek, Rybakina and a few men. And then we go to Perth in Australia for the United Cup (Bencic plays in the mixed competition with Stan Wawrinka).
Last season was very successful. But were there also difficult moments?
I feel like everything went very, very smoothly. Of course the US Open didn’t go as I had hoped (loss in the 2nd round). But that happens in our sport and will happen again next year. Even if you go into a tournament in top shape, someone can simply be better that day.
What is the goal for the coming season?
It keeps going up. The first goal is certainly to attack the top ten. It doesn’t take much more, but it’s still another step.
And show the world once again how successful a mother can be?
I don’t think that’s even the point. In private life that’s very nice, but on the field it doesn’t matter whether you’re a mom or not. As a tennis player, everyone just wants to be as successful as possible. (abu/sda)
