Iga Swiatek seeks her first Wimbledon title as she takes on Belinda Bencic in the semifinals.
Let’s preview the match through the lens of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Belinda Bencic vs. Iga Swiatek prediction, preview
Iga Swiatek is hoping to win her first-ever Wimbledon title. Swiatek’s five Grand Slam titles are the most of any active woman in the sport. Swiatek is currently tied with several other players at five, but a sixth title would move her to 11th all-time in Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era. This is the first time that Swiatek has even made a semifinal at Wimbledon. She has been the queen of Roland Garros over the past few years and has a US Open title, but has never broken through at the All England Club. Wimbledon has been by far her worst Grand Slam venue, with a 69% career win percentage at the All England, compared to 76% at the Australian Open, her next-worst winning percentage at a Grand Slam.
Swiatek’s opponent, looking to keep her out of the final, is Belinda Bencic. Bencic was a top-ten player in the world before taking a maternity leave from late 2023 to October 2024. Bencic has worked her form back up over the past few months and is now in the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. She has not made it this far in a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open, where she lost in the semis. Bencic will hope to play spoiler to Swiatek, as she looks to make her first-ever Grand Slam final.
Bencic vs. Swiatek pick, best bet
Belinda Bencic and Iga Swiatek have faced each other four times in their careers. Bencic’s lone win in this series came in the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open. These two last met in 2023, right here at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals. Both of the first two sets went to tiebreakers, with the two players splitting those. However, it was Swiatek who took the third set and won the match. They have not played since Bencic came back from giving birth to her first child.
This is the surface where these two are the most evenly balanced. It is Swiatek’s worst surface, with a 69% career win percentage, compared to 81% on hard and clay. Meanwhile, grass has been Bencic’s best surface. She has a 68% career win percentage on grass, compared to 61% on hard and clay. These players are relatively evenly matched on grass, although Swiatek is the deserved favorite.
My best bet is for Swiatek to win two sets to one. Just like the last time these two faced off at Wimbledon, it should be an exciting match. Bencic has been playing fantastic tennis throughout this tournament and should be able to force a third set against Swiatek. However, just like in 2023, Swiatek should use her superior talent to come up with the few key shots needed to take the third set.
