How Martina Hingis inspired Belinda Bencic's father to get his son into tennis, only to be blessed with daughter instead

Belinda Bencic recently discussed how Martina Hingis' humongous impact on the tennis world influenced her family to get Bencic into tennis very early. The 27-year-old was around three years old when she began her successful journey in the sport.

Bencic has enjoyed a brilliant career so far, winning the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, reaching a career-high ranking of 4, claiming the Billie Jean King Cup, and so much else. She is from Switzerland, a country that has produced tennis greats such as Roger Federer, Martina Hingis, Stan Wawrinka, and others. She recently revealed Hingis' role in helping her become a tennis professional.

In her appearance at the Tennis Insider Podcast hosted by Caroline Garcia and her fiance Borja Duran, she said she started her tennis journey because of her parents who played tennis for fun in a tennis club nearby. She revealed her father Ivan was a big fan of Hingis, the combined 25-time Major champion, and wanted his son to play tennis but as fate would have it, he was blessed with a daughter.

"I started with tennis very early. We had a tennis club very near our house where I grew up. And my parents, they really liked tennis because of Martina Hingis in Switzerland. And then, he (her father) said, 'When my son will be born, I want him to play tennis', and then it was me." Bencic said. (at 2:20)

She then chronicled the early stages of her journey and much like Martina Hingis, she also started competing in tournaments at a very young age. It is worth noting that the 44-year-old is the youngest Grand Slam champion in history, having won the ladies' doubles at Wimbledon in 1996 at the age of 15 years and nine months.

"They just played for fun in the tennis club near our house. And then when I was walking a little bit, I just came with them and then I started and it was like this. I was two and a half, three years old. I mean, I don't know if you can call it tennis at that age. And then when I was four or five, then it was maybe a little bit training and everything, but I started very also in tournaments."

Bencic's father Ivan acted as her coach for the majority of her career. She is currently being coached by Iain Hughes.

"My father took all his courage and called Melanie Molitorova" - Belinda Bencic on how Martina Hingis's mother ended up becoming her coach

Martina Hingis and her mother after the 1999 French Open final - Source: Getty

As fate would have it, Martina Hingis' mother Melanie Molitorova, who also coached her daughter, ended up training Belinda Bencic when she was getting started with her journey. The 27-year-old chronicled how her father took the courageous step of giving Molitorova a call and making the request.

"I mean, in Switzerland, she (Hingis) was obviously a big, big athlete that achieved amazing things. Then my father, he was very inspired by her story, and then he took all his courage and called Melanie, and he asked her if she would take a look at me, what she thinks, and everything, and then she said yes," she said. (at 4:13)

She also added her initial experience playing tennis in front of Molitorova.

"The first time we went there, I didn't want to play, I was so shy. And then she explained some things to my father and then the second rime we went there, I played and we moved to her place so I could practice day to day at her school."

Belinda Bencic played her maiden professional tournament on the ITF women's circuit in Falladen in March 2011, shortly after turning 14 years old. 14 years later, she is still playing scintillating tennis and recently won her first title as a mother in Abu Dhabi.