Last Updated on July 8, 2023
Belinda Bencic, a professional Swiss tennis player, was born on March 10, 1997, in Flawil, Switzerland. Both her parents were athletes; her father, Ivan, played professional hockey, while her mother, Dana, was a professional handball player. Belinda started her tennis journey at age two and began competing in tournaments at a young age, often against older opponents.
At age five, she started training with Melanie Molitor, the mother and coach of Martina Hingis, one of the top players in the world at the time. This weekly training continued for a year. Belinda also spent six months training at the Nick Bollettieri Academy when she was six years old. When her family moved to Wollerau in 1994, Belinda was able to train daily at Molitor’s newly opened academy. As a teenager, she often worked with Martina Hingis as well.
Standing at 5’9″, Belinda plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand. She began her professional career in 2012 after entering her first professional tournament on the ITF women’s circuit in March 2011. Since then, she has won seven singles titles, two doubles titles, and two WTA 125K Series singles titles.
Over the years, Belinda has had several endorsements. She has been using Yonex racquets and has been endorsed by Adidas for clothing and footwear since 2011. In 2018, she started an endorsement deal with Nike upon her return to professional tennis. Currently, she is sponsored by Asics for clothing.
Who Is The Current Belinda Bencic Coach?
Ivan Bencic
In April 2023, Bencic parted ways with Tursnov and has not yet announced the name of her new coach. She is most likely consulting with her father as a coach. This was already the case in between when Bencic was without a coach in the middle of the season.
He has been with her since her birth. He is the rock of her success today. As Belinda’s father and early coach, he sought out means he could use to help her succeed. Ivan Bencic has always had a keen interest in sports. At the same time, he played hockey professionally for the Swiss National League A and B. He also played tennis for recreational purposes.
Belinda Bencic Former Coaches
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov is a former professional tennis player from Russia. He had a successful career as a player, reaching a career-best ranking of World No. 20 in November 2006. Tursunov won four ATP Tour singles titles and made it to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open before he retired in 2016.
After his playing career, Tursunov started coaching and worked with notable players like Elena Vesnina, Aryna Sabalenka, Anett Kontaveit, and Emma Raducanu. His guidance helped Sabalenka and Kontaveit break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings.
In 2023, Tursunov teamed up with Belinda Bencic. Speaking about their partnership, Bencic said, “He’s definitely a very tough coach, says what you need to hear, and sometimes it’s really uncomfortable stuff. That’s what I look for, what takes me out of my comfort zone. I just feel like we’re going to have a great year.”
And it was indeed a great year for Bencic. She won her seventh WTA title in Adelaide, defeating several top players and returning to the top 10 for the first time since 2020. She then reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open and made it to the finals of the Abu Dhabi Open, where she saved three match points to win her eighth title. These successes show the positive impact of Tursunov’s coaching on Bencic’s performance.
However, the successful collaboration between Tursunov and Bencic came to an end in April 2023. The decision was mutual and followed a period of differing views on the way forward after the Miami tournament. Belinda Bencic’s manager, Marijn Bal, stated, “After Miami, Belinda and Dmitry had different ideas about how to proceed and they decided together to end their partnership. There is no schedule for a new coach.” Despite the split, the pair have left a marked impact on each other’s careers, and Bencic’s performance under Tursunov’s coaching will be remembered as a high point of 2023.
Sebastian Sachs
If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with a team. Sebastian Sachs worked with Belinda Bencic from April 2021 to October 2022
Born in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The 30-year-old coach involuntarily started playing tennis at age five. His sister, who’s four years older, wanted to play tennis. While he was not allowed to stay alone at home, he was compelled to go with her. Six months later, he started playing in the federation. While in Germany, he once held a spot in the top 199 German men’s rankings. On the line, he wanted to be a tennis pro but was set back by injuries. Sachs got to the semifinals of the Racquets Club Collegiate Invitational. In 2015, he gave up his dream and has been coaching ever since. Sebastian did not rank higher than 1052 in the ATP World Tour rankings.
Before coaching Belinda, he also trained Victoria Azarenka and Julia Görges.
In this period of training Belinda, he has the task of making her a shooting star. He gave her excellent tips to help her improve her serve. He advanced her to the round of three in the French Open grand slam singles and led her to win Charleston 2022. He’s been on the team alongside Belinda’s fitness coach, Martin Hromkovic.
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Melanie Molitor
The early training Belinda had is attributed to Melanie. The latter helped groom and position her for the life of a tennis player from age five. She was groomed by Melanie once a week for about a year. Melanie Molitor is a Swiss tennis coach, born February 23, 1957. At a younger age, she played in the Czechoslovakia Tennis League. Melanie moved from Moravia to the east of Slovakia, married, and gave birth to Martina Hingis. When Martina was six, she separated from her husband and moved back to Moravia and later Switzerland. She opened a tennis school where she could train people in the art of tennis playing. In Wallerau, with its tennis hall. From 1996-1998, she was the team boss of the Swiss Fed Cup team.
Before she started coaching Belinda Bencic, she coached her daughter, Martina Hingis. Martina was one of the best players. In recent years, Belinda has done so much thanks to her. Melanie has had a successful coaching career: in 1997, she moved Martina Hingis to number one in the WTA rankings, and Martina won five grand slams that year; in 1997, she was named Switzerland’s coach of the year; as the Swiss Fed Cup team manager, she reached the final against Spain in 1998; and in 2015, she moved Belinda to number fifteen in the WTA rankings. As a junior, Belinda was coached by her father, Ivan, and Melanie Molitor. At some point, Belinda’s father became her primary coach.
Vladimír Pláteník
Pláteník is currently the head coach at the Empire Tennis Academy in Trnava, Slovakia. He was born on February 18, 1996. Vladimír Pláteník played professional tennis before he became a coach. He was the former coach of the 2014 Australian Open finalist, Dominika Cibulková. He also coached Anna Sharapova. Though his time with Belinda Bencic was short, he gave his best. Pláteník worked with her from Wimbledon in July until mid-October 2018, when her father took over.
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Belinda Bencic’s Achievements With Different Coaches
We have collected in the table the data about the trophies won by Belinda Bencic under the guidance of various coaches.
Coach | Year of service | Title |
Melanie Molitor | 2004-2012 | 2012, Swiss Fed Cup. |
Vladimír Pláteník | 2018 | 2018 Luxembourg |
Ivan Bencic | 2013-2016, 2018-2021 | 2014 Swiss Fed Cup; 2015, Prague; 2015 Washington DC; 2015 Eastbourne, Toronto; 2019 Dubai, Moscow; 2021 Olympics. |
Sebastian Sachs | 2021-2022 | 2022 Charleston, Gold Olympic 2021 |
Dmitry Tursunov | 2022- 2023 | 2022- 2023 |
Ivan Bencic | 2023- ogoing | none |