Belindavensik, who played in the first Wimbledon quarterfinals in nine appearances for Earl England Club, disrupts the Russian teenage sense to Mira Andriva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Wednesday, reaching the Grand Slam semi-finals for the first time in six years.
“To be honest, I’m speechless,” said Vensik, who hasn’t been seeded for the tournament. “I’m very happy.”
On Thursday, she will face No. 8 Iga Swiatek, five-time Grand Slam champion. Other semi-final pit No. 1 against Aryna Sabalenka No. 13 against Amanda Anisimova. They advanced with a victory on Tuesday.
Since reaching Maria Sharapova in 2005, the seventh seed Andreva, who had been aiming to become the first 18-year-old in a women’s draw, hadn’t dropped the set in four matches and played the 4-All in one set.
The 28-year-old Bensik has competed in the second major tournament since returning to the tour after giving birth to her first child (a daughter named Bella) in April 2024, 10 years older than Andreva.
She missed Wimbledon last year during maternity leave and returned to the competition in October last year. After starting the year ranked 489th, she is expected to reach the top 20 in the last two weeks.
Bencic was one of nine mothers of Wimbledon Singles Draw, the only appearance of other major semi-finals at the 2019 US Open, but is still the only one competing.
“In fact, I’m very proud of myself. Every career, I didn’t say it much to myself, but after having Bella, I say it to myself every day,” Bensik said. “We enjoy living on tours with Bella. Travel. It was beautiful to create these memories together. Obviously, the great play is really great, but for me it’s a bonus.
She joined Martina Hingis as the only Swiss woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals during her open days. Hingis won the title in 1997 and entered the semi-finals in 1998.
According to ESPN BET, Bencic was closed at +6600 odds and won this year’s tournament. All three women’s champions had odds of over +8,000 (Elena Rybakina was 100-1 in 2022, Mareta Vondrousova was +8,000 in 2023, and Barbora Krejcikova was 100-1 in last year).
ESPN research and Associated Press contributed to this report.