Andy Roddick is tipping Belinda Bencic to return the top-10 and finish the 2026 season among the 10 best-ranked players on the WTA Tour.
The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, who gave birth in 2024, was ranked at No. 1447 when she launched her post-pregnancy comeback.
Since returning to tennis, Bencic has made a drastic ranking leap as she enters 2026 as the 11th-ranked player in the game.
For the majority of her career, the Swiss tennis star has hovered around the top-15 in the world. In 2020, the 11-time WTA champion achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world. However, the 28-year-old hasn't been ranked inside the top-10 since March 2023.
In late October, Bencic won the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong – which was her second title of the year. As a reward, she improved two sets and ensured finishing the year just outside the top-10.
Currently, the 28-year-old Swiss has 256 ranking points fewer than 10th-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Roddick hails Bencic's 'insane' return to tennis: She will be a top-10 player again in 2026
“I think we should take a look at these players 15 through, say, 11, which is Navarro, Svitolina, Noskova, Tauson and Bencic. My question to you guys is, of these five players, who has the best chance of being in the top 10 by the end of next year?” Roddick said on his podcast.
“I’m going to take Belinda. Because I think we have to have a bigger conversation about what she actually did this year, which I’ve said before, but it’s just insane.”
Meanwhile, the world No. 11 is set to kick off her 2026 season by representing Switzerland at the United Cup. In her opening match on Saturday, the Swiss will take on France's Leolia Jeanjean.
After the United Cup, Bencic will also play the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide before launching her Australian Open run.
Bencic won't have many points to defend in Australia this January since she picked up back-to-back round-of-16 losses in Adelaide and the Australian Open last year.
