Belinda Bencic has played her fair share of thrillers in her first full season back on the WTA Tour since 2023, but none lasted as long as Wednesday’s second-round battle against qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in Ningbo.

Ningbo: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No. 6 seed needed 3 hours and 33 minutes — and a comeback from a set down — to defeat the Ukrainian 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the longest WTA main-draw match of 2025 so far. It marked the 46th match of the season to exceed three hours.

“It was a really intense match with a lot of ups and downs,” Bencic said after the match. “She was giving me a really tough time, playing smart and intelligent. But in the end, I toughed it out. I’m really proud of never giving up and always sticking in there. I’m excited for the next one.”

With the win, Bencic advanced to the Ningbo Open quarterfinals, her fourth quarterfinal appearance of the season. There, she’ll face the winner of Jasmine Paolini and Veronika Kudermetova.

“Jasmine is playing amazing,” Bencic said. “She’s a top player and she’s really consistent. And with Veronika, we’ve played so many matches already. It’s always going one way or the other, so she’d be tough as well.”

Bencic started strong, taking a 5-4 lead and earning a set point in the opener. But Starodubtseva saved it and broke to level the set. Two games later, she broke again to steal the set.

Seventy-three minutes in, it was clear the match was headed for a marathon.

Bencic again jumped ahead 5-2 in the second set, but Starodubtseva rallied to 5-4. This time, Bencic held serve and converted the set point to force a decider after more than two hours.

In the third, Bencic once more led 5-2. Starodubtseva saved two match points and broke serve to close the gap to 5-3, eventually leveling the set at 5-all. But Bencic broke back and then held at love, converting her third match point to seal the win.

The match narrowly eclipsed the previous longest of the season — Coco Gauff’s three-set semifinal win over Zheng Qinwen in Rome — by one minute.

Here are all of 2025’s three-hour WTA main draw matches so far (as of October 15): 

1. Belinda Bencic d. Yuliia Starodubtseva 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, Ningbo R2 (3:33)
2. Coco Gauff d. Zheng Qinwen 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4), Rome SF (3:32)
3. Viktorija Golubic d. Arantxa Rus 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(10), Cluj-Napoca R1 (3:30)
4. Maria Sakkari d. Ashlyn Krueger 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5, Beijing R1 (3:29)
5. Ella Seidel d. Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-5, Seoul R2 (3:28)
6. Lucia Bronzetti d. Zhu Lin 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(6), Cincinnati R1 (3:27)
7. Laura Siegemund d. Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(2), Montreal R1 (3:26)
8. Tatjana Maria d. Chloe Paquet 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, Bogota R1 (3:25)
T9. Aliaksandra Sasnovich d. Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6[8], Wimbledon R1 (3:24)
T9. Lois Boisson d. Dalma Galfi 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-2, Beijing R1 (3:24)
11. Gao Xinyu d. Beatriz Haddad Maia 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, United Cup RR (3:22)
T12. Daria Kasatkina d. Peyton Stearns 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-5, Brisbane R2 (3:21)
T12. Liudmila Samsonova d. Jessica Pegula 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(5), Berlin R2 (3:21)
T12. Diane Parry d. Tara Wuerth 7-6(9), 3-6, 7-5, Hamburg R1 (3:21)
T15. Emma Navarro d. Peyton Stearns 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, Australian Open R1 (3:20)
T15. Wang Xinyu d. Jil Teichmann 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-4, Singapore QF (3:20)
T17. Laura Siegemund d. Hailey Baptiste 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, Australian Open R1 (3:16)
T17. Jaqueline Cristian d. Leylah Fernandez 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, Indian Wells R2 (3:16)
T17. Yuliia Starodubtseva d. Wang Yafan 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, Montreal R1 (3:16)
T20. Yulia Putintseva d. Diana Shnaider 7-6(3), 6-7(9), 6-4, Adelaide QF (3:14)
T20. Harriet Dart d. Jana Fett 7-5, 2-6, 7-6[7], Australian Open R1 (3:14)
22. Rebecca Sramkova d. Laura Siegemund 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(6), Nottingham R1 (3:13)
T23. Jule Niemeier d. Laura Siegemund 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, Stuttgart R1 (3:12)
T23. Magdalena Frech d. Sara Errani 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5), Stuttgart R1 (3:12)
T23. Emiliana Arango d. Viktoriya Tomova 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4, Rome R1 (3:12)
T23. Leylah Fernandez d. Elena Rybakina 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-6(3), Washington SF (3:12)
T27. Clara Tauson d. Caroline Dolehide 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, Washington R2 (3:10)
T27. Renata Zarazua d. Madison Keys 6-7(10), 7-6(3), 7-5, US Open R1 (3:10)
T29. Aryna Sabalenka d. Emma Raducanu 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5), Cincinnati R3 (3:09)
T29. Moyuka Uchijima d. Olga Danilovic 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6[9], US Open R1 (3:09)
31. Anastasia Zakharova d. Kimberly Birrell 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, Cleveland R1 (3:08)
32. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro d. Louisa Chirico 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, Montreal R1 (3:06)
T33. Katie Volynets d. Erika Andreeva 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2, Auckland R1 (3:05)
T33. Leolia Jeanjean d. Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, Cincinnati R1 (3:05)
35. Barbora Krejcikova d. Taylor Townsend 1-6, 7-6(13), 6-3, US Open R4 (3:04)
T36. Cristina Bucsa d. Emma Raducanu 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, Singapore R1 (3:03)
T36. Belinda Bencic d. Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), Madrid R3 (3:03)
T36. Jaqueline Cristian d. Camila Osorio 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4, Rabat SF (3:03)
39. Beatriz Haddad Maia d. Emma Navarro 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, Strasbourg QF (3:02)
T40. Sorana Cirstea d. Emma Navarro 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5, Dubai R3 (3:01)
T40. Camila Osorio d. Ann Li 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, Beijing R1 (3:01)
T40. Laura Siegemund d. Mirra Andreeva 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, Wuhan R2 (3:01)
T43. Destanee Aiava d. Greet Minnen 5-7, 7-5, 7-6[6], Australian Open R1 (3:00)
T43. Anna Bondar d. Noma Noha Akugue 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3), Hamburg R1 (3:00)
T43. Ajla Tomljanovic d. Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1), Monterrey R1 (3:00)
T43. Diana Shnaider d. Elise Mertens 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), Monterrey QF (3:00)