Belinda Bencic says she already feels her tennis “is there” but admits that the physical side remains a bit tricky part since she still hasn’t regained her full fitness.

After announcing her pregnancy in late 2023, the Swiss tennis star gave birth in April – and although it wasn’t expected – she returned to action on October 30th and took part in three tournaments in the next month and a half.

Bencic, whose new season basically started two months ago, is now set to compete at the United Cup.

Ahead of Saturday’s match against Chloe Pacquet, the 27-year-old was asked if she could assess her current state.

“I think my tennis is there. I think that’s like riding a bike. I don’t think that you lose that,” the former world No. 4 noted.

“But it’s definitely the physical side that I can still improve. I already did a lot of improvement. I think the most that I needed to improve was my movement, was the reaction, and just, like, yeah, the physical condition.” While the nine-time WTA champion feels she is not far away from her usual level, she highlights that she also needs to be physically at her best in order to be able to produce her best tennis.

“I mean, I cannot really tell you percentage-wise how I feel, because obviously the tennis is different than the physical side. I feel definitely over maybe 75, 80%. I feel that, you know, my level is there. I definitely feel like I can compete and beat a lot of players,” Bencic explained.

Also, the current world No. 487 noted that the hot conditions in Australia might be a great test for her fitness so she is looking forward to seeing how she does in her opening few matches of 2025.