Who is Belinda Bencic’s father and coach Ivan

There was a time in the last five years when people have already written off Belinda Bencic. Bencic, who was one of the brightest young female stars in the tennis world during the second half of the decade, struggled with some health issues. But she worked hard and became a major star again. A big part of her resurgence in the rankings and tournaments can be attributed to her father and coach, Ivan Bencic.

Who is Ivan Bencic?

Ivan Bencic always had an interest in sports, especially tennis. While the sport he played professionally was hockey (he played for the Swiss National League A and B), he used to go to the tennis courts recreationally too. This would be one of the reasons why his daughter eventually became interested in tennis. 

Born in Czechoslovakia, Ivan and his family fled to Switzerland in 1968 to escape the Soviet Union’s invasion. He grew up in Switzerland and eventually met Daniela Bencicova, who he married. He became an insurance broker before he worked full-time for her daughter’s sports career.

Ivan’s dedication to her daughter’s career

At the age of two, Ivan introduced tennis to her daughter. He began training her for an hour on a daily basis until she started competing for national tournaments when she reached four. Competing at such a young age meant that Belinda would face much older opponents. Not wanting to put too much pressure on her, Ivan encouraged her to win as much as two games per set.

Melanie Molitor

Wanting her daughter to improve her skills, Ivan enlisted the help of fellow Czechoslovak immigrant Melanie Molitor. Molitor has a vast experience with coaching eventual superstars as she is the mother of former world no. 1 Martina Hingis. 

Marcel Niederer

Ivan also worked hard to persuade entrepreneur Marcel Niederer to sponsor Belinda as a player. Niederer is his childhood friend, which is one of the reasons why he agreed. This enabled Ivan to quit his job so he can focus on Belinda’s career.

Ivan and Belinda eventually separated professionally. But due to Belinda’s declining fortunes in the rankings and tournaments, Ivan was brought back in 2018. On their first match after partnering up again, Belinda reached the final round of the Luxembourg Open. Now, Belinda is back in the upper pages of the world rankings, with her currently at No. 12. 

Belinda’s chances to win the 2019 U.S. Open

Belinda has a real chance of winning her first Grand Slam. She is set to play with Canada’s Bianca Andreescu for the semi-final rounds. If she wins, she will battle either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or tennis legend Serena Williams. 

Bencic at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2019

Ranked no.12, Bencic has a 40-16 win-loss record in 2019. The Swiss is now competing at the U.S. Open where she toppled Mandy Minella 6-3 6-2, Alize Cornet 6-4 1-6 6-2, Anett Kontaveit w/o, Naomi Osaka 7-5 6-4 and Donna Vekic 7-6⁵ 6-3.

Belinda will square off with Andreescu in the semifinal. They have never played each so far on the main tour.

Bencic conquered 1 title in 2019 in Dubai. Bencic was also the finalist in Mallorca.