Belinda Bencic faces Bianca Andreescu in the second round of the Italian Open on Thursday. The 12th seed is still finding her footing on clay but remains a very difficult player to beat, while the Canadian will be eyeing success in Rome after some strong runs at lower levels in recent months.
Bianca Andreescu vs Belinda Bencic Match Details
Date: May 7, 2026
Tournament: Italian Open 2026
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Category: WTA 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, TSN
Bianca Andreescu vs Belinda Bencic Head-to-Head Record
This will be the third meeting between these two players, with their head-to-head record currently 1-1. Andreescu defeated Bencic in the 2019 US Open semifinals, while the Swiss star came out on top in straight sets at the 2022 French Open.
After being hampered by a string of injuries in recent years, Andreescu appears fully fit again and has enjoyed success at the ITF level in 2026. Her overall win-loss record for the year stands at 21-8, and she started her campaign in Rome with an impressive straight-sets 6-4, 7-5 win over another former Grand Slam winner in Sofia Kenin.
Bencic holds a 16-6 win-loss record going into the Italian Open, and five of those six defeats have come in three sets. The 29-year-old has established herself as a consistent performer on the WTA Tour but has not advanced past the quarterfinals this year.
In Madrid, Bencic started with two impressive wins but fell to Hailey Baptiste in a hard-fought Round of 16 match. Before that, she made the quarterfinals in Charleston but lost to Madison Keys in three sets.
Bianca Andreescu vs Belinda Bencic Prediction and Pick
Bencic’s ranking and overall form give her the advantage going into the match. But clay is by no means her favorite surface, and she has never made it past the second round at the Italian Open.
This will give Andreescu some confidence as she looks to pull off an upset. The Canadian reached the quarterfinals in Rome in 2022 and also advanced to the fourth round last year, with wins over Elena Rybakina and Donna Vekić.
But Andreescu is still finding her footing on the WTA Tour, and Bencic will be the highest-ranked opponent she has faced since her loss to Qinwen Zheng at the 2025 Italian Open.
Both players like to leave it all on the court, so we should be in for a hard-fought contest that could well go down to the wire.
We believe that while Andreescu is more than capable of pulling off an upset, Bencic will finally make the third round of the Italian Open by winning in straight sets.
Pick – Bencic in straight sets.
