Iga Swiatek opens up after beating Paolini, ahead of first grass-court final: ‘I wasn’t expecting…’

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After her reign on clay came to an end, Iga Swiatek is now making waves on a different surface.

Swiatek started her grass season in Germany following a clay swing during which she didn’t manage to win a title – a rare dip in form for the world number eight.

In fact, she hadn’t lifted a trophy since beating Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 French Open final, but a return to form could be on the cards.

Iga Swiatek says she was surprised to beat Jasmine Paolini to reach first grass court final

It was against none other than Paolini again that Swiatek secured her first grass court final appearance against after a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win in Friday’s semi-final.

“I’m super happy. I honestly wasn’t expecting to win this match. I’m happy that I just did my job,” she said.

“I knew how I wanted to play and I just went for it and I’m happy that I kept the momentum going until the end of the match.

“Paolini is so hard to play against on grass. You cannot let her get back into the game because she’s a fighter. So I just wanted to go for it and go for my shots.”

Iga Swiatek explains how she defeated Jasmine Paolini at the Bad Homburg Open

The 23-year-old’s unbeaten run against Paolini now stands at 5-0, with the Bad Homburg clash requiring just 66 minutes. The Italian has won only one set in those encounters.

It was also Swiatek’s 49th win over a top 10 player – but notably, her first on grass. She’ll now face either Jessica Pegula or Linda Noskova in Sunday’s final, which is a chance for that elusive first grass title.

Asked what made the difference, Swiatek pointed to their similar playing styles.

“The tactics are different on every surface, it’s not like there is one key. But I think we are both pretty intense,” she explained.

“I kinda understand how she wants to play because I also have a lot of topspin on my forehand and I like to step in on my backhand, so we get each other’s games.

“I know she has great touch and she might go to the net, but I tried not to let her do that to take away time from her to come forward. I played pretty long shots to keep her on the baseline, and I’m happy that I did that.”