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Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has reached her first-ever grass-court final, defeating last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals at the Bad Homburg Open on Friday.
The former world number one swept past second seed Paolini with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 victory in just over an hour. This win marks Swiatek’s first final appearance in a year since she claimed her fourth French Open trophy at Roland Garros.
The 24-year-old Pole will now compete for her 23rd career title on Saturday against US top seed Jessica Pegula, who advanced by rallying past Czech Linda Noskova 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 6-1.
Swiatek, the fourth seed, lost her opening service game but quickly recovered, breaking back to love and subsequently dominating Paolini.
This victory extends her head-to-head record against the Italian to 5-0. “I wasn’t expecting to win this match, so I’m happy that I just did my job,” Swiatek said after the match. “I knew how I wanted to play, and I just went for it. I’m happy I kept the momentum going until the end of the match, Jasmine. You can’t let her get back in the game because she’s a fighter.”
This tournament is Swiatek’s first since her semifinal loss to world number one Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros. Despite her numerous Grand Slam titles, she had never before reached a final on grass, with her best Wimbledon result being a quarterfinal finish in 2023.
Pegula, 31, secured her fifth semi-final win of the season and will aim for her third trophy of the year, having previously won on hard court (Austin) and clay (Charleston).
A US Open finalist in 2024, Pegula has only one career title on grass, which she won last year in Berlin.
Paolini, 29, will now prepare for her Wimbledon campaign, where she is set to face 402nd-ranked Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.
Swiatek will begin her Wimbledon journey against Russian Polina Kudermetova, ranked 63, while Pegula will open against Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
