Switzerland couldn’t have asked for a much better start to its 2026 United Cup campaign than the ones Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka delivered Saturday in Perth.

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Bencic dropped the opening game against France’s Leolia Jeanjean, but never trailed again, rolling to a 6-2, 6-4 win at RAC Arena in 1 hour and 31 minutes. The victory — sealed with a backhand winner down the line — gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead in its tie against France prior to the men’s singles match between Wawrinka and Arthur Rinderknech.

Bencic controlled the matchup from the outset in the pair’s first meeting, dominating at the net, where she won 23 of 29 points, and reinforcing that edge with strong serving. She won 78% of her first-serve points to stifle most of the pressure Jeanjean managed to generate.

“The last game was tricky with the Australian sun,” Bencic said after the match. “I think this is really one of the only places — to play in Australia — where you get into this situation. So I should have done better somehow. So I’m going to find some solutions next time.”

Bencic, 28, is coming off a resurgent 2025 season in which she was named WTA Comeback Player of the Year, climbing from World No. 421 in January to No. 11 in the year-end rankings in her first full season after maternity leave.

“Last year, we didn’t expect it to go so well,” Bencic said. “Of course, I don’t think the work is done yet. I’m extremely happy to receive the Comeback Player of the Year award, and now it’s time to do more work and try to get better.”

Wawrinka made a winning start to his final year on the ATP Tour in dramatic circumstances. Defeating Rinderknech 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), Wawrinka sealed victory for Switzerland in its United Cup opener. 

“Today was a tough battle but I’m very happy I could make it 2-0,” said Wawrinka, who announced in December that 2026 would be his final season as a pro, after his three-hour, 18-minute triumph at RAC Arena.

After an early exchange of breaks in the third set, Wawrinka claimed his first win against a Top 50 opponent on hard courts since 2024 by edging Rinderknech in a deciding tie-break.

The No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rinderknech is aiming to build on a career-best 2025 season. He notched 27 tour-level victories, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, a tally which includes his run to the final at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Yet he was unable to find the consistency in his big-serving game to overcome former World No. 3 Wawrinka, who has now recorded an ATP Tour win in 23 different seasons (2003, 2005-25).

Saturday’s day session tie in Perth will be wrapped by a mixed-doubles encounter in which Bencic and Jakub Paul will take on Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.