Homburg: Iga Swiatek beat Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3 to reach her maiden grasscourt final in Bad Homburg on Friday, ahead of Wimbledon 2025.
Former World No. 1 Swiatek took down second-seeded Italian Paolini in an hour and six minutes, extending her head-to-head lead to 5-0, to book her place in the final of the WTA 500 event.
The 24-year-old Swiatek will face USA’s Jessica Pegula in the Pole’s first final since last year’s French Open summit clash where she beat Paolini to clinch her fourth title at Roland Garros. She also has a title on hardcourt - US Open 2022.
Pegula beat Czechia’s Linda Noskova 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 in the second semifinal.
“I am super happy and I was not expecting this. I just did my job and I knew what I wanted to play and I went for it,” Swiatek said in a post-match interview.
“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. I just wanted to go for it, and go for my shots.”
Swiatek did not play any other grass tournaments this season ahead of next week’s Wimbledon, instead opting for a week of training in Mallorca before competing in Bad Homburg. Swiatek, who has slipped to eighth in the WTA Rankings, will begin her campaign at Wimbledon with a first-round clash against Russia’s Polina Kudermetova. The grass Major, where Swiatek has not gone past the quarterfinals, will be held from June 30 to July 13. Agencies
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