Belinda Bencic began 2025 parked at No.421, a ranking that usually signals an ending rather than a beginning. What followed was not a miracle sprint or a nostalgia tour, but a steady, oxygen-thinning climb back into relevance. By October, she wasn’t at the summit of the sport — but she was firmly at Camp IV, among the elite again, where the air is brutal, the margins are thin, and only serious contenders survive.
Adelaide and Melbourne: The Ranking Lied, the Ball Didn’t
Adelaide exposed the fiction of Bencic’s ranking almost immediately. She came through qualifying with crisp straight-set wins over Moyuka Uchijima and Laura Siegemund, landing over 60 percent of first serves in both matches and keeping double faults under control. Against Anna Kalinskaya in the main draw, she won 88.2 percent of first-serve points before the match ended early.
The loss to Liudmila Samsonova in the round of 16 — 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4 — mattered more than it looked. Nearly three hours on court, sustained pressure, and a reminder that when rallies stretched, her second-serve points won (38.9 percent) could still wobble.
At the Australian Open, Bencic delivered one of January’s sharpest early statements, beating Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 7-6(6) despite a high double-fault count of 10.4 percent. She followed it with wins over Suzan Lamens and Naomi Osaka (via retirement after a first-set tiebreak), before running into Coco Gauff. Bencic took the opener 7-5, but as her first-serve points won dipped to 55.6 percent, Gauff’s physicality flipped the match 2-6 1-6.
Abu Dhabi: The Week the Climb Became Real
If one week explained how Bencic hauled herself out of ranking obscurity, it was Abu Dhabi.
She began with a three-set win over Rebecca Sramkova, then produced a scoreline that doesn’t happen by chance: 6-0 6-0 over Veronika Kudermetova, winning 78.9 percent of first-serve points and an extraordinary 76.9 percent on second serve. Marketa Vondrousova followed, then came the turning point — a three-set win over Elena Rybakina, 3-6 6-3 6-4, built on patience and clean returning.
The final against Ashlyn Krueger was a test of nerve rather than flair. After losing the first set, Bencic reset and ran away with it, 4-6 6-1 6-1, saving eight of twelve break points. She finished the week with a title and something more important: confirmation that her body and her game could still absorb elite pressure.
Indian Wells: Revenge, Then Reality
Indian Wells extended the momentum. Bencic dismantled Tatjana Maria, survived Amanda Anisimova in three sets, and handled Diana Shnaider with authority. Then she reversed the Melbourne script against Gauff, winning 3-6 6-3 6-4 while landing 73 percent of first serves.
The quarterfinal was a reminder of the sport’s cruelty. Madison Keys overwhelmed her 6-1 6-1, exposing the old vulnerability when time is taken away early. Bencic won just 45.2 percent of first-serve points and 28.6 percent on the second. By then, she had already climbed back to base camp — No.45.
Clay: Progress Without Illusion
Miami brought a gritty three-set win over Dayana Yastremska — she saved 11 of 15 break points — followed by a flat loss to Elina Svitolina. Charleston was worse: Sofia Kenin beat her 6-0 6-3, and Bencic’s second-serve points won collapsed to 11.1 percent.
Madrid steadied the arc. She beat Zeynep Sonmez 6-0 6-2, then edged Clara Tauson 7-5 7-5 and survived Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 4-6 7-6(2) in a three-hour grind. Coco Gauff stopped her again 6-4 6-2, and Rome ended with a brief retirement against Maria Sakkari. The clay season didn’t elevate her status, but it didn’t derail it either. No French Open 2025 though.
Grass: Wimbledon Validated the Climb
Bad Homburg was a forgettable loss against Alexandrova. Wimbledon was not.
Bencic crushed Alycia Parks 6-0 6-3, regrouped against Elsa Jacquemot after losing the first set, then edged Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4 3-6 7-6(7) in a near three-hour test. The round of 16 brought a rematch with Ekaterina Alexandrova, which Bencic won 7-6(4) 6-4.
The quarterfinal against Mirra Andreeva was the purest expression of her nerve: two tiebreak sets, 73.8 percent first serves in, and three of four break points saved. She lost heavily to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals (6-2 6-0), but the run itself was the point. She was back in week two of a Slam, playing tennis that belonged there.
Summer Hard Courts: Competitive, Not Yet Ruthless
Montreal and Cincinnati delivered close losses — Muchova, Veronika Kudermetova — matches where the margins were thin but decisive. At the US Open, she beat Shuai Zhang comfortably before falling to Ann Li (6-3 6-3), a reminder that sustaining return pressure across matches remained a work in progress.
Asia: The Finish That Completed the Arc
Beijing was dramatic but unrewarded. She pushed Gauff again, winning the first set and forcing a tiebreak before fading. Wuhan brought a win over Donna Vekic, a walkover, and another tight loss to Swiatek (7-6 6-4).
Tokyo, though, was the payoff. Bencic fought past Karolina Muchova in three sets, outlasted Sofia Kenin, and then delivered a final that felt definitive: a 6-2 6-3 win over Linda Noskova in which she saved all ten break points she faced and won nearly 79 percent of first-serve points. It was controlled, authoritative, and unmistakably top-tier.
Source: WTA post on X confirming Belinda Bencic’s Tokyo 2025 title
Hong Kong followed with two clean wins to close the year, tidy matches that used to leak in comeback seasons and didn’t here.
Belinda Bencic Assessment
This season worked because Bencic approached it like a veteran climber, not a desperate wildcard. Her first-serve percentage consistently lived in the mid-to-high 60s, giving her the platform to strike early and redirect pace. The evidence sits in the results: beating Rybakina in Abu Dhabi, flipping Gauff at Indian Wells, navigating Wimbledon tiebreaks without panic, and closing Tokyo by saving ten straight break points.
What still separates her from a weekly top-five presence is the occasional tactical collapse when opponents rush her timing. The losses to Keys in Indian Wells and Kenin in Charleston showed that when the second serve falters, the floor can drop quickly. Encouragingly, those collapses became rarer as the year went on, particularly late in Asia.
Final Verdict A
This wasn’t a sprint back to the summit. It was the long, oxygen-starved climb to Camp IV (WTA Ranking No.11) — the last stop before the peak, where only genuine contenders arrive and nothing is guaranteed.
GPA: 3.8
For a player who started the year outside the top 400, it was the most impressive season of any top-40 competitor in 2025. The climb is complete. The next step is optional — but entirely realistic.
Related WTA Articles You Might Enjoy
Abu Dhabi 2025 Results: Complete List of Matches Including Qualifiers and Updates