Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic are going to clash in the final in Adelaide on Saturday. Swiatek and Bencic have never faced each other so far and therefore this will be their first match.
How they started playing tennis and their fathers
Like many tennis players, both Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic have been introduced too the sport of tennis by their (competitive) fathers.
Belinda Bencic
Belinda started extremely young. Her father Ivan was captivated by the success of Martina Hingis. Therefore, he asked Martina Hingis’s mother and coach Melanie Molitor to have a look at his daughter when Belinda Bencic was just 5-year-old. Melanie and Ivan had a connection for the fact that both emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Switzerland. Eventually, Belinda ended up training with Melanie once per week for 1 year. When Belinda Bencic was 6, she went to the well-known tenis academy of Nick Bollettieri in Florida where she trained for 6 months. in Florida Bencic surprised everyone after winning various under-10 tournaments. Back in Switzerland, Belinda Bencic and her family moved to Wollerau, where Martina Hingis’ mother opened an Academy.
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek had probably a smoother introduction to the sport. Her father Tomasz is a former rower that he even competed in the Olympics in Seoul. He wanted Iga and her older sister Agata to play sports. His idea was that his daughters would compete in individual sports so as not to rely on other people for their success. Agata that is 3 years older than Iga started with swimming to then try tennis. Eventually, Iga Swiatek took on tennis with the desire to beat her older sister. That worked pretty well.
Swiatek in Adelaide, ranking, and results in 2021
Now ranked no.18, Swiatek has managed to achieve a 8-2 record in 2021. The Pole is playing in Adelaide where she ousted Madison Brengle 6-3 6-4, Maddison Inglis 6-1 6-3, Danielle Rose Collins 6-2 3-0 ret. and Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-2.
Bencic in Adelaide, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked no.12, the Swiss owns a composed 5-2 match record in 2021. Bencic is now competing in Adelaide where she conquered Misaki Doi 6-1 6-3, Storm Sanders 6-2 6-4 and Cori Gauff 7-62 6-74 6-2.
Bencic won 4 titles in her career: 2 on hard courts, 1 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
