Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
82º

Belinda Bencic wins women's singles gold; Elina Svitolina claims bronze

Belinda Bencic became the first Swiss player since Roger Federer in 2012 to win an Olympic medal.

Women's singles gold medal match

MATCH STATS

Recommended Videos



Switzerland's Belinda Bencic defeated the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova in a marathon women's singles gold medal match on Saturday in Tokyo. 

Bencic, the No. 9 seed, won 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, converted 70 percent of her first serve attempts and six of 10 break point opportunities. Bencic took a medical timeout when she was up 4-3 in the third set, receiving treatment on her foot, but appeared unfazed on the court. 

The first-time Olympian is the first Swiss tennis player to win a medal at the Olympics since Roger Federer's win in 2012, and the first Swiss woman to win a gold in the sport. 

The Tokyo tournament's two top women's singles seeds, world No. 1 Ash Barty and No. 2 Naomi Osaka, were knocked out in the first and third rounds, respectively.

Bencic, 24, is guaranteed another medal on Sunday. Partnering with Viktorija Golubic, she's playing in the women's doubles gold medal match against the top-seeded Czech Republic team of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

SEE MORE: Elina Svitolina wins Ukraine's first Olympic tennis medal

Women's singles bronze medal match

MATCH STATS

In the bronze medal match earlier in the day, Elina Svitolina battled back to defeat Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.

The No. 4 seed Svitolina came out on top 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in a two-hour, 24-minute affair. With the win, she became the first Ukrainian tennis player to win an Olympic medal.

Of Svitolina's six matches in Tokyo, four went to three sets, leading to a total of about 12 hours spent on the court at these Games. 

Svitolina, the current world No. 6, is a two-time Olympian, having ousted Serena Williams to advance as far as the quarterfinals in 2016. 


Loading...

Recommended Videos