Belinda Bencic may have just fallen out of the Top 10—she dipped from No. 9 to No. 17 this week after points from some of her 2019 results dropped off—but that clearly hasn’t affected her knack for beating Top 10 players.
The reigning Olympic gold medalist battled past No. 9-ranked Angelique Kerber at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Prague on Tuesday, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, to improve her career record against Top 10 players to an impressive 26-22.
And she’s gotten better against Top 10 players in recent years—she was 13-15 against them as of the end of January 2019, but since February 2019 she’s 13-7.
BENCIC AGAINST TOP 10 PLAYERS SINCE FEBRUARY 2019: 13-7
d. No. 9 Sabalenka in 2019 Dubai 3rd Rd, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7)
d. No. 2 Halep in 2019 Dubai QFs, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
d. No. 6 Svitolina in 2019 Dubai SFs, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3)
d. No. 4 Kvitova in 2019 Dubai F, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
d. No. 1 Osaka in 2019 Indian Wells 4th Rd, 6-3, 6-1
d. No. 5 Pliskova in 2019 Indian Wells QFs, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
l. to No. 8 Kerber in 2019 Indian Wells SFs, 6-4, 6-2
l. to No. 7 Bertens in 2019 Stuttgart 2nd Rd, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
d. No. 1 Osaka in 2019 Madrid QFs, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
l. to No. 3 Halep in 2019 Madrid SFs, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-0
d. No. 6 Kerber in 2019 Mallorca SFs, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4
l. to No. 7 Svitolina in 2019 Toronto 3rd Rd, 6-2, 6-4
d. No. 1 Osaka in 2019 US Open 4th Rd, 7-5, 6-4
l. to No. 7 Kvitova in 2019 Beijing 3rd Rd, 6-3, 6-3
d. No. 10 Bertens in 2019 WTA Finals RR, 7-5, 1-0 ret.
d. No. 6 Kvitova in 2019 WTA Finals RR, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
l. to No. 1 Barty in 2019 WTA Finals RR, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
l. to No. 8 Svitolina in 2019 WTA Finals SFs, 5-7, 6-3, 4-1 ret.
d. No. 8 Swiatek in 2021 US Open 4th Rd, 7-6 (12), 6-3
d. No. 9 Kerber in 2021 Billie Jean King Cup Finals RR, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
And in four of the seven losses in that stretch, she pushed it to three sets.