Super mum Belinda Bencic declared she wants to "inspire" other mothers to return to sport after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals only 10 months after her maternity leave. And the Swiss star will now bid to put to bed Iga Swiatek - and probably Aryna Sabalenka in the final - to become the first mother since Evonne Goolagong in 1970 to claim the women's singles title.

World No.35 Bencic started the tournament on Court 17 and will end it on Centre Court. Yet her journey back from giving birth to her first child Bella in April last year - and returning last October without a ranking - is even more remarkable. The 2021 Olympic champion, 28, began 2025 at world No.489 and will now re-enter the world's top 20 after reaching the last four. In her on-court interview after beating Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 7-6 7-6, the Swiss said: "It's crazy, it's unbelievable. It's a dream come true. I am so happy."

She dedicated her fourth round win to "mothers who juggle" and yesterday admitted: "This was definitely not the timetable. I was surprised how quickly I came back. My body allowed it. We tried to play some lower-ranked tournaments at the end of last season to get the hang of it.

"The logistics of everything - the logistics of travelling as a family now. I was able to play the Australian Open which went incredibly well I am really proud of myself and the whole team for how we managed to come back."

Bencic also hailed the pioneering March announcement of the WTA Maternity Fund Program - ironically funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund - which provides up to 12 months of paid maternity leave to players.

"I am really proud of the WTA to become the first sport for female athletes to do this," she told ESPN.

"I think we are a great leader for other sports, kinda paving the way. I think it makes it much easier for female athletes to take the decision to have a family mid-career and to be able to come back and travel around the world. It is incredibly important and I am very happy that I am able to inspire some other athletes."

Bencic lost her last Grand Slam quarter-final to Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open but she used her experience in the big moments against another 18-year-old on Wednesday. The first 20 games went with serve - and there were only two breaks all match - but she won both tiebreaks to follow 1997 champion Martina Hingis as only the second Swiss women into the last four here.

Asked about the effect of motherhood on her game, 2019 US Open semi-finalist said: "I definitely play with more freedom. I think I am less hard on myself, I am enjoying it much more. I feel like I take losses differently now. I am still nervous before matches but it is a different kind of nervous. There is not so much the fear of losing anymore because you come out and you have such a different life.

"You just feel that tennis is not so important anymore. It is something I am very passionate about - I still do my best when I am on the court. I am practising less but I am being more productive on the court. I think it has a lot of impact on my career now. I am definitely able to enjoy it much more now."

She will now face fellow former Wimbledon junior champion Swiatek after the Pole swept aside Russian No.19 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5 on Court One. It is also the first time the five-time Grand Slam champion has reached the last four here. "It feels great," said Swiatek. "Even though it's the middle of the tournament I got goosebumps after this win."