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Belinda Bencic is a 17-year-old Swiss tennis prodigy who is set to become one of the stars of 2014. Julian Finney/Getty Images
Born in Switzerland to parents who emigrated from the former-Czechoslovakia in 1968, Bencic began playing tennis as soon as she could walk. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
As a child Bencic idolized Swiss tennis stars Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka, and Martina Hingis (left), and still has posters of them on her wall. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Aged four, she enrolled in a tennis school run by Hingis' mother Melanie Molitor, who she still works with. Michael Dodge/Getty Images
In July 2013, Bencic beat America's Taylor Townsend to take the Wimbledon girls' championship, having already won the French Open in Paris the previous month. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Bencic ended 2013 as the No. 1 junior and was crowned the female 2013 ITF Junior World Champion. Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Aged 16, Bencic was reported by Forbes to have 11 sponsors. Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
She is now coached by her father Ivan, and trains for half the year at former world No. 1 Chris Evert's tennis academy in Florida. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
In January 2014, Bencic fought an exhibition match against Hingis, billed as "the Master versus the Apprentice" -- but lost out to her childhood idol. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
At the Australian Open, Bencic made her first adult grand slam appearance, beating veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm before falling to eventual winner Li Na in round two. Chris Hyde/Getty Images
In April's Family Circle Cup, Bencic fought through two qualifying rounds and four competition rounds -- knocking out Maria Kirilenko, Marina Erakovic, Elina Svitolina, and Sara Errani -- to become the first qualifier to reach the tournament's semifinals. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
