‘There’s hope for me on grass’ – Swiatek loses Bad Homburg final

Iga Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, criticized her for “showing there is hope” for her on grass despite her defeat to American Jessica Pegula in the final of the Bad Homburg Open.

Swiatek, the former world number one, lost to Pegula in her first grass-court final, 6-4 7-5.

Swiatek struggled on the quicker grass surface in her professional career despite winning the junior title at Wimbledon. Her 22 WTA titles have been won on clay (10) or hard courts (12) to date).

Poland’s four-time French Open champion and one-time US Open champion reached Wimbledon’s quarter-finals in 2023 but hasn’t advanced past the fourth round in any of her previous four appearances.

She appeared to turn heads in Germany this week, defeating Italian champion Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3, in the semi-finals, her first victory over a top-10 player on grass.

In her on-court interview, Pegula, the third world number three, told Swiatek, “I know you say you can’t play on grass, but you can still play pretty good on grass. Take some slack on yourself.

Good luck for the following week, I am aware that both of us will have a short turnaround.

On Tuesday, Pegula will face Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round of Wimbledon, while Pegula will face Russian Polina Kudermetova.

With a difficult draw, Swiatek will face French Open champion Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.