AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 20, 2026

Belinda Bencic

Press Conference

B. BENCIC/K. Boulter

6-0, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Belinda, into the second round here in Melbourne. Give us your thoughts on your performance today.

BELINDA BENCIC: I'm happy with the first match, for sure. I'm happy with the way I started. I think I was, like, very intense and, yeah, playing well. I think Katie stepped it up a little bit. It got a little bit more tight. I'm happy how I handled the important moments.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. There are no easy first rounds, but this was difficult. What was your reaction when you found you had to play Katie?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, for sure I know she's a very good player and she has a game that can be very aggressive. She's definitely going for it with her shots, also good serve. I was definitely being ready. That's how I started. I think I was very focused, very ready.

I was also ready for it to become a little bit more tight. Of course sometimes it's not easy to win the first set 6-0.

Q. Katie was talking about how difficult it is to face you, given how early you take the ball, your court position inside the baseline. It's the way you've played. How did that game style start?

BELINDA BENCIC: Well, it was my first coach, Melanie Molitor. The way Martina Hingis played, her daughter, it was quite natural for her to teach this way, which I'm very grateful for.

I think it's the most, let's say, biggest signature of my game. I think it's also not comfortable to play against players that take the ball early.

I would also say that Katie sometimes takes the ball early and it's definitely not comfortable. I tried to do that. It's just something that comes very naturally for me.

Q. In Maria Sakkari's press conference, she said your father sent you a video of when the two of you were young. Did you see it? Have you been extra nostalgic lately?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yes, exactly. Sometimes we find amazing treasures like this. It was in Orange Bowl. Yeah, I mean, she had like braces on her teeth. I was super young. It's very nice to see that we both came quite far in our career. Just nice to see it.

We are good friends, so we like to see sometimes these pictures. Also I think on my Instagram, one of my first pictures, I think I'm like 14 and she's maybe 15 or 16. We are sharing an ice bath together in Boca Raton at Every Academy. Also just nice memories.

Q. On a larger scale, you're on this win streak. You talked about how your level is getting better and better. In what areas specifically do you see that growth?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, I think I definitely improved in my movement I would say. I also think my serve got more steady, better. I would say my net game, as well. I can see that mostly in practice. I still try to incorporate it a little bit more in matches. I mean, obviously I'm very good at taking the swing volleys. But I think the regular volley also got better.

Q. The Tuesday night match. Some players play as early as Sunday in the day session. Maybe it doesn't matter, but would you rather play super early in the first round? Are you eager to play or you don't mind waiting?

BELINDA BENCIC: It's a tough question. Sometimes I think you are eager to play. I think I was kind of this tournament ready to play early. But then I think it also was better for me to just have a little bit of more time to kind of relax a little bit, then get going again.

Yeah, sometimes it's tricky. You play the first match on Sunday, you lose, you're like the first loser of the tournament, which is horrible feeling. So I think it's a fear of everyone who plays first match on Sunday.

But yeah, I really love playing night sessions. When I heard I'm playing night session on Tuesday, I'm very happy.

Q. One of the unique things about tennis is that you share a locker room with players who you play against, rivals. Are there ever any awkward moments that come out of that?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, I mean, it's a good question because, of course, you don't see that in any other sport, being in the locker room with your rival basically. You basically see how everyone is preparing, what they're doing, their vibe. Maybe you can sense a little bit if they're nervous or easy. So it's a bit special.

But I think we're so used to it. I mean, we don't know it in any other way. Maybe it's just normal for us. But yeah, sometimes it can be a little bit awkward, of course, if someone has had a bad day or just lost or something, then someone else comes in and is all happy like this.

It's a shared space, so I think you have to really also be a little bit, how you say, respectful to everyone else and, yeah, just be respectful and normal, so...