Jessica Pegula Recalls Significant Change in Iga Swiatek Before Wimbledon Grass Court Match

After losing to Jessica Pegula at the Bad Homburg Open final, the American reassured Iga Swiatek that she is still very good on grass, and Swiatek interestingly went on to win the Wimbledon Championships two weeks later.

Jessica Pegula Recalls Significant Change in Iga Swiatek Before Wimbledon Grass Court Match

Iga Swiatek (image via Wimbledon), Jessica Pegula (image via WTA)

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A few weeks before Iga Swiatek broke a year-long title drought, winning her first Wimbledon title, the Pole reached her maiden grass-court final at the Bad Homburg Open. It also marked her first final after the 2024 Roland Garros. It was least expected to see Swiatek make her comeback on grass, a surface which was historically her weakest.

Although Swiatek lost in straight sets in the Bad Homburg final to Jessica Pegula, the top seed in the victory speech reassured her that she is still very good on grass. Things took a different turn at Wimbledon which saw Pegula crash out in the opening round, while Swiatek went on to win the tournament, becoming the eighth woman to win a Grand Slam on all three surfaces.

Pegula spoke about Swiatek’s grass court performance at the pre-tournament press conference at the Washington Open:

I thought she was serving a lot bigger. I didn’t really watch her much during Wimbledon. I’m not sure if that was better. But she was serving really big in Bad Homburg and playing good tennis and beat good grass court players. I thought our final was a really high level. It was super close…

Swiatek did nonetheless have a good run at Bad Homburg, defeating some experienced grass court players there such as the likes of 2024 Wimbledon runner’s-up Jasmine Paolini. Swiatek’s form in Wimbledon was further exceptional, as she dropped only one set throughout the entire tournament. Pegula further reflected on the comments she made about Swiatek:

You know she is always kind of down on herself about grass, and I was like, ‘Hey, you’re playing really good on grass, ‘I’m not really sure why you think you’re bad on grass or what it is’. So it was kind of funny she ended up winning Wimbledon. I was like, of course I said that and we had that moment when we played in the final and then she wins Wimbledon, but that’s just tennis for you.

Swiatek hit a staggering 9 aces against Pegula in the Bad Homburg final. She greatly improved on her first serve win percentage, with 58% at the Bad Homburg final, and a 79% average at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old also reduced a lot on errors and on average was broken less than a game per match at Wimbledon.

She dropped just two games in the semifinal and final combined at Wimbledon, even winning the final with a double bagel. This marked the second time in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, that a double bagel took place after the 1988 Roland Garros final.

Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula’s North American hard court swing

Jessica Pegula will kick start her North American hard-court swing with the Washington Open. Pegula won her first WTA singles title at Washington in 2019 and is the top seed in the tournament this year. The World No. 4 will play her opening round against.

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

On the other hand, Iga Swiatek will be looking to start her summer hard court swing with the Canadian Open in Montreal where Pegula will also be playing. While Swiatek is yet to win a title here, Pegula will be entering this tournament as the two-time defending champion. A number of top 10 WTA players have however withdrawn from the Canadian Open. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from this tournament citing fatigue, while Qinwen Zheng and Paola Badosa have withdrawn due to injury.

Also Read: Andrea Petkovic Snubs Coco Gauff, Calls Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka the ‘Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’ of WTA Tour