SWIATEK OFF TO A STRONG START IN GRASS SEASON – TOP SEED PEGULA IMPRESSES

Three Grand Slam champions and former world number ones with a combined total of eleven major titles – on Tuesday, fans at the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt (running through June 28) were treated to world-class tennis, thrilling highlights, and big-name stars. On the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court, four of the five Top 10 players competing in the Kurpark played their round of 16 matches – and all emerged victorious in front of a fantastic crowd of 3,700 spectators.

Swiatek enthuses: “Everything fits together perfectly here”

‍Fan favorite Iga Swiatek looked strong in her first grass-court match of the season, defeating two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka 6–4, 6–4 to continue building confidence. The current top active player with five Grand Slam titles is using the boutique tournament to prepare for Wimbledon (starting June 30).
“The atmosphere here is really great. The Kurpark, the short walking distances – everything fits together perfectly,” said fourth seed Swiatek, who will face either Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 8) or Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Swiatek won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 and now, seven years later, aims to make her mark on the hallowed grass as a senior champion.

Pegula vs. Navarro: Top 10 showdown in Thursday’s quarterfinal

‍Top-seeded Jessica Pegula had little trouble advancing. The 2024 US Open finalist defeated an injured Katerina Siniakova – the 2022 Kurpark champion – 6–2, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Pegula will face fellow Top 10 player Emma Navarro (No. 5), who got past wildcard Naomi Osaka 6–4, 6–4.

Last year’s Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini (No. 2) and Leylah Fernandez delivered a thrilling battle in the day’s opening match. After 2 hours and 32 minutes, the favored Italian – at 1.63m the shortest player in the Top 10 – edged out the Canadian 7–6 (10–8), 7–6 (8–6). Her next opponent will be either Elina Svitolina or Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Much-anticipated Andreeva debut on Wednesday

‍The third seed Mirra Andreeva will make her first appearance at this year’s Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt on Wednesday (not before 5:30 p.m.). The 18-year-old, who has already claimed WTA 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Dubai this season, will face Clara Tauson. Andreeva thrives on grass – and sitting in her box is a true grass-court legend: her coach Conchita Martinez, who won Wimbledon in 1994.