Iga Swiatek surges past Jasmine Paolini to reach first grass final in Bad Homburg

Iga Swiatek is through to her first final of the 2025 season, and her first-ever final on grass, after a dominant 6-1, 6-3 semifinal win over Jasmine Paolini at the Bad Homburg Open on Friday.

The victory marks a milestone moment for the World No. 4, who hadn’t reached a final in more than a year since winning Roland Garros in 2024.

The 1 hour, 6 minute win also extended Swiatek’s perfect record against Paolini to 5–0, and gave her a sixth Top 10 win of the year, but notably, her first on grass.

Swiatek was largely in control from the start, except for a brief stumble early in the second set when Paolini broke serve. However, the Italian could not hold onto the momentum, losing her own serve to love immediately after and never regaining the lead.

The Pole said afterwards in a post-match interview, "I wasn't expecting to win this match, so I'm happy that I just did my job... I knew how I wanted to play and I just went for it. 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, the tournament’s fourth seed, will now face either No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula or unseeded Czech youngster Linda Noskova in Saturday's final, as she eyes her first title since lifting the trophy at Roland Garros last spring.

And with Wimbledon just around the corner, Swiatek’s Bad Homburg run could not come at a better time.

Drawn as the No. 8 seed, Swiatek headlines her section of the 2025 Wimbledon women’s draw, where she opens against Polina Kudermetova. Should she advance, potential matchups include wildcard Jodie Burrage, American Caty McNally, and a tough third-round clash against either Danielle Collins or Marta Kostyuk, who is seeded 26th.

Looming further ahead is a potential quarterfinal clash with Coco Gauff, and recent history hasn’t been kind to the Pole. After dominating their early rivalry, Swiatek has lost her last three meetings against Gauff, all in straight sets, including tough defeats on the clay and hard courts.

Overall, Swiatek’s impressive surge in Bad Homburg could mark a turning point in her grass-court journey. If she maintains this level of play, Wimbledon 2025 might just be the stage where she finally solves the puzzle of grass and makes her long-awaited breakthrough.