Andy Roddick hails Belinda Bencic as he tells the ‘crazy story’ that’s happened to her in 2025

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Belinda Bencic has enjoyed a fantastic 2025 campaign and continues to impress as the year draws to a close.

Last time out, Bencic won the Pan Pacific Open, defeating Czechia’s Linda Noskova in the final.

The Swiss star had already won a WTA 500 title earlier this year, when she picked up the trophy in Abu Dhabi.

Winning her second title of the year, Bencic made another jump up the world rankings as she closes in on the top 10.

Reacting to her triumph in Tokyo, American tennis legend Andy Roddick heaped praise on the 2020 Olympic gold medalist.

Andy Roddick says Belinda Bencic’s comeback from maternity leave is one of the ‘stories of the year’

During the latest edition of ‘Served with Andy Roddick’, the 43-year-old shared his thoughts on Bencic’s 2025 season.

“Story of the week, I think, which leads into one of the bigger stories of the year, which I think has been kind of underserved… If I said someone is ranked 913 in the world, take it back a year, what do you think the odds would be of that person being ranked 11 a year later?” he said.

“Wouldn’t everyone know those numbers off the top of their head? That would be a crazy story. Now, what if that person was coming back from time away because she had a child?

“Didn’t play tennis for a long time, went from 913 to 11 in the world, I feel like everyone would be talking about that right, all the time. One of the stories of the year, I’m happy to talk about it.”

Roddick has been impressed with Bencic’s efforts throughout 2025, her first full season back after giving birth to her daughter in April 2024.

“Belinda Bencic, winning last week, is up to 11 in the world. Her year-end ranking in 2024 was 913 in the world. Can you believe that? That is absurd,” he said.

“913 is like, you don’t really have a ranking, 11 in the world, almost in the top ten, crazy cool story.”

Roddick proceeded to share his thoughts on Bencic as a person.

“I don’t know her, and I’m positive that I really like her, those kinds of people where nobody says anything wrong, they go about it the right way, nothing they do on court ever rubs you the wrong way, they’re just good,” he said.

“Props to Belinda Bencic, 11 in the world, 913 a year ago.”

Bencic isn’t the first mother to enjoy success upon her return to the tour, as Roddick rightly mentions.

“I love that this is a story that is now happening more often. Dear friend Kim Clijsters, someone who set the terms, this is something that is real, this is something that is going to happen,” he said.

“It doesn’t always happen from 913 to 11, I think this is such a cool story. Congrats to Belinda Bencic on her win last week.”

Securing the win in Tokyo wasn’t enough for Bencic, however, as she made a quick trip over to Hong Kong for her final tournament of the year.

Can Belinda Bencic finish her year with another title in Hong Kong?

Competing in Hong Kong as the number-one seed, Bencic defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4, in her opening match.

Advancing to round two, she will play China’s Wang Yafan, the world number 298.

Moving through the draw, Bencic may face off against several impressive youngsters, including Alexandra Eala, Victoria Mboko, and Maya Joint.

Top eight seeds at the Hong Kong Open

• 1. Belinda Bencic
• 2. Leylah Fernandez
• 3. Victoria Mboko
• 4. Sofia Kenin
• 5. Maya Joint
• 6. Anna Kalinskaya
• 7. Sorana Cirstea
• 8. Emiliana Arango

It remains to be seen if she can lift the trophy in Hong Kong, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Bencic will return to take on Yafan in the second round on Thursday, October 30.