Stan Wawrinka plans "Belinda’s World" t-shirt for United Cup semis, awaits AO wild card fate

If one takeaway is clear with the conclusion of Perth’s portion of the United Cup, it’s that Switzerland is vibing as a team.

The two most decorated players, Stan Wawrinka and Belinda Bencic, know a thing or two about winning for their country.

Wawrinka partnered Roger Federer to gold at the Beijing Olympics and later rejoined his legendary countryman to lead Switzerland to its first Davis Cup title in 2014. Bencic captured women’s singles gold and women’s  doubles silver at the Tokyo Olympics and joined forces with Federer to win the final two editions of the Hopman Cup when it was held in Perth.

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Serving as player-captain at this year’s United Cup in the launch of his final year on tour, Wawrinka has also been able to count on Jakub Paul. The 26-year-old has stepped up to go undefeated alongside Bencic, with two of their mixed wins being live deciders.

So has there been a secret to their run to the semifinals thus far?

“Belinda,” a smiling Wawrinka summed up after his squad eliminated Argentina.

“I’m not a secret,” responded last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist.

“Yeah, but you are the key,” the 40-year-old replied back.

When the Swiss step out for their next match, pay attention to Wawrinka's wardrobe. For a t-shirt that reads “Belinda’s World” is among the articles of clothing in his bag.

“It's the least I expect. I mean, how do you treat a gift like that?” said Bencic after joking that it was only a travel wearable.

“You sure? Okay, done deal. I will be wearing it in Sydney when she's playing,” declared Wawrinka. “No pressure, but now you have to keep playing that good.”

Wawrinka has held his own as he awaits word on whether he’ll be awarded a main-draw wild card into the Australian Open, the site of his first major triumph 12 years ago. The Lausanne native defeated Arthur Rinderknech to open 2026, pushed Flavio Cobolli to a decisive tiebreaker and went down to Sebastian Baez, 7-5, 6-4, in his most recent outing.

I'm happy where I am right now, and I'm not worried too much about what's going to happen in Melbourne. Stan Wawrinka

He’s kept an open line with Craig Tiley and Stephen Farrow since December and will respect Tennis Australia's final decision either way. Coming through qualifying isn’t on the table, as Wawrinka accepted a wild card to play Auckland’s ASB Classic following the United Cup.

“I want to play one more time. Of course, it's my last year. Amazing memories from there, but I'm so grateful I received one last year,” Wawrinka said.

“It's a wild card. I had one job to do if I wanted to play one more time, to be in the Top 100, and I'm not.”

Switzerland awaits the winner of Belgium and Czechia. Those two nations face off Thursday in Sydney.