Swiatek dismantles Paolini to reach maiden grass-court final at Bad Homburg Open
Swiatek came through against the Italian 6-1, 6-3. She’ll play Jessica Pegula, the top seed, in Saturday’s final
Iga Swiatek, Bad Homburg, 2025 © Zuma / Psnewz
Iga Swiatek earned a significant breakthrough by reaching a career-first grass-court final, breezing past second-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3 to reach Saturday’s showpiece at the Bad Homburg Open.
In a repeat of last season’s Roland-Garros final, the contest played out much the same as an irrepressible Swiatek simply overawed last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, breaking five times in total compared to just the single break for Paolini.
The Pole, who has endured an underwhelming twelve months relative to her usual stratospheric standards, has yet to fully master grass-court tennis. Simply formidable on clay and already a hard-court Grand Slam champion, Swiatek has never make it past the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and her grass-court trophy cabinet remains empty.
That could be about to change, however, as the five-time major titlist looked as sharp and dangerous on the grass courts of Bad Homburg as she has on any other surface throughout her career.
Testament to Swiatek’s woes over the past year is her current ranking of eighth in the world, having relinquished her iron-clad grip on the No 1 ranking before slumping alarmingly down the ladder.
A painful semi-final exit at her beloved Roland-Garros to arguably her biggest rival in Aryna Sabalenka brought a difficult year full circle with no titles to the Pole’s name.
rejuvenated swiatek looking sharp on the grass
Since arriving on her less favoured grass courts, however, Swiatek has looked like she has received a fresh lungful of air, sweeping past three talented opponents without dropping a set.
As last season’s Wimbledon runner-up, Paolini perhaps entered this match as the favourite against a wounded Swiatek who has typically been far less comfortable than the Italian on the grass. But this semi-final was one-way traffic from start to finish.
Swiatek broke three times without reply en route to taking the opening set comfortably.
Paolini struck first at the start of the second set, but it was a short-lived fightback, as the Pole broke straight back in the second game before surging rapidly into a 5-2 lead. A couple of games later and Swiatek had wrapped up an unexpectedly straightforward victory to move into her first final since Roland-Garros last year.
She will take on Jessica Pegula, the top seed in Bad Homburg, in tomorrow’s final.
With hopes of a fourth straight Roland-Garros title dashed, perhaps this year Swiatek can attack Wimbledon with more purpose than in previous years, where she has often looked stuck in the aftermath and fatigue of her recent French Open triumphs.
A maiden grass-court title in Bad Homburg would provide a huge boost of confidence and momentum in the Pole’s ongoing quest to conquer SW19.
