Jessica Pegula Delivers Assessment of Iga Swiatek’s Performance on Grass After Bad Homburg Final Clash

Iga Swiatek has never reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, where last year, she lost in the third round.

Jessica Pegula Delivers Assessment of Iga Swiatek’s Performance on Grass After Bad Homburg Final Clash

Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Wimbledon, WTA)

Iga Swiatek finally reached a singles final for the first time this season. It’s at the Bad Homburg Open where she lost in the summit clash to Jessica Pegula.

Swiatek started to cry after the loss but reaching the final gave the Pole some hope about her game on grass. The 24-year-old, confident after her Bad Homburg run, will want to have a great campaign at Wimbledon where she has not yet progressed beyond the quarterfinals. It’s the only Grand Slam tournament where the four-time Roland Garros has never reached the semifinal.

Pegula, during the winner’s speech, advised Swiatek to cut herself some slack as she believes the former World No.1 plays good tennis on the surface even though she has never won a title. During the pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon, the American gave an assessment of Swiatek’s performance.

I’m not sure, but she was definitely serving really well. And, I mean, that’s why in her speech. She’s like, ‘Oh, there’s hope for me.’ I’m like, ‘You’re still pretty good.’ Like, I’m pretty sure she made, like, quarters or semis here. Yeah, like, it’s she won junior Wimbledon. I’m like, ‘You’re not a lost cause.’

Pegula registered her fifth win over the five-time Grand Slam champion in their 11th meeting. It was also their first clash on grass.

So, I think she was just a little hard on herself just because, obviously, she’s been so dominant, especially on clay, and, you know, it’s hard when you don’t feel as natural on a surface. I’m sure it doesn’t feel as natural to her, but, yeah, she’ll be fine.

Jessica Pegula added

The World No.3 has lifted three titles this year. Before the WTA 500 tournament on grass, the 31-year-old lifted the ATX Open and her first clay-court title at the Charleston Open.

Pegula is now a two-time champion in grass-court events as before Bad Homburg, she also emerged victorious at the 2024 Berlin Open, which she failed to defend as Liudmila Samsonova knocked her out in the fourth round. At Wimbledon, the 2024 US Open finalist was the quarterfinalist in 2023 but last year, her campaign ended in the second round due to her defeat to Wang Xinyu. She will kick-start her Wimbledon campaign against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto on July 1.

Iga Swiatek criticizes the hectic tennis schedule ahead of her Wimbledon campaign

Iga Swiatek is not at all a fan of the hectic 11-month tennis calendar. She thinks playing tournaments one after the other doesn’t give players some time to rest and recover.

Iga Swiatek (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Iga Swiatek (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Swiatek also loves practicing before tournaments but the schedule doesn’t give her enough time to prepare. She played the Bad Homburg final on June 28 and then flew to London for her first-round match at Wimbledon, which is scheduled on July 1. Ahead of her match, Swiatek, in the pre-tournament press conference, said “tennis isn’t your whole life” and is convinced that fans will continue to watch tennis if players show up in fewer tournaments.

It’s a difficult subject; everyone has their own problems and sees things differently. For me, I find the calendar very intense, too intense; it doesn’t make sense to play more than 20 tournaments a year.

Swiatek will face Polina Kudermetova in the first round. She will be aiming to end her trophy drought in the tournament. Swiatek has not yet won a title since winning her fourth Roland Garros last year. She was expected to lift her first title of the season on the clay swing but even at the French Open, she couldn’t progress to the final. At Roland Garros, eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka ended her run in the semifinals.

Also read: Coco Gauff Calls for Women to Play Finals Last Instead of Men and Take Center Stage in Tennis