Pegula beats Swiatek on grass to win Bad Homburg title in Wimbledon tune-up
BAD HOMBURG, Germany (AP) — Top-seeded Jessica Pegula beat five-time major champion Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to win the grass-court Bad Homburg Open, extending Swiatek's year-long title drought.
Pegula clinched her third title of 2025 — with the others in Austin, Texas, and Charleston, South Carolina — and it was the ninth title of the 31-year-old American's career.
Swiatek was seeded fourth at the WTA 500 tournament in Germany, where the 24-year-old Pole sought her first trophy since the
2024 French Open
and a 23rd overall.
In their
11th career meeting
, but first on grass, Pegula won for the fifth time overall.
Pegula
beat Swiatek in the quarterfinals at last year's U.S. Open, where she finished the
runner-up
.
Although Swiatek hit nine aces in Saturday's final, she also dropped her serve twice. Pegula saved the only break point she faced and won a
higher percentage
of points on first and second serve.
The former No.1-ranked Swiatek has won four French Open titles and one U.S. Open, but has never been beyond the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Pegula has also never been past the last eight at
Wimbledon
, where plays starts on Monday in London. ___
AP tennis:
https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Jannik Sinner won't say why he fired two team members right before Wimbledon
LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner confirmed that he recently fired two members of his team — fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, who themselves were replacements for people involved in the player's doping case — but declined Saturday to explain the reason for the change ahead of Wimbledon. Sinner, who has been ranked No. 1 for more than a year, said that he decided shortly after losing in the second round of the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany, this month to make the change. Sinner has not yet found substitutes for Panichi and Badio, who both used to work with Novak Djokovic. 'Nothing seriously bad happened. They did great work for (the past) three months. Sometimes, things happen,' Sinner said at his pre-tournament news conference. 'The timing obviously isn't the best, but having done a lot of work (together) before, it won't affect this Grand Slam a lot. I feel well physically and mentally and ready to compete.' Play begins Monday at the All England Club, where Sinner was a quarterfinalist in 2024. He will play Luca Nardi in an all-Italian matchup on Tuesday. Last year, Sinner tested positive twice for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March; the case wasn't made public until August, shortly before the U.S. Open, which he ended up winning for the second of his three Grand Slam titles. He initially was completely cleared, based on the defense that he accidentally was exposed to the banned substance, Clostebol, via a massage from his then-physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi. Sinner said his fitness trainer at the time, Umberto Ferrara, purchased a product in Italy and gave it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi's finger. Naldi then treated Sinner while not wearing gloves. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the exoneration, and Sinner agreed to serve a three-month ban that ended right before the Italian Open in May. 'There's not one specific thing,' Sinner said. He was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open three weeks ago, wasting a two-set lead and three match points in a final that lasted 5 1/2 hours. As for adding new team members, Sinner said Saturday: 'I haven't thought about replacements. It's not the time to think about my options. But there are a lot of options.'
San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña out of lineup a day after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña was not in the lineup Saturday but was feeling better after leaving the Astros' victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night in the fifth inning because of rib soreness, manager Joe Espada said. Peña was hit in the ribs by Cade Horton's pitch during the second inning of the Astros' 7-4 win. He remained in the game for three innings until being removed for a pinch hitter. Imaging done Friday did not reveal a fracture. 'He is getting treatment right now. He's gonna move around, probably hit off the tee,' Espada said. 'I'm going to do everything I can to keep him away from today's game, just to give him a full off day, but he's actually feeling pretty good.' Peña played in the Astros' first 82 games of the season. The 2022 ALCS and World Series MVP is enjoying the best year of his career, batting .322 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs while serving as the leadoff hitter. His .867 OPS is 166 points higher than the number he posted last season. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Rooker, Kurtz homer off Schmidt to back Sears, lead Athletics over Yankees 7-0
NEW YORK (AP) — Brent Rooker ended Clarke Schmidt's scoreless streak at 28 1/3 innings with a solo homer in the fourth inning, Nick Kurtz added a three-run drive in the sixth and the Athletics beat the New York Yankees 7-0 Saturday. Former Yankee JP Sears (6-7) allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings for the A's, who had lost five of six and entered a major league-worst 11-31 since May 13. Jack Perkins, a 25-year-old right-hander who debuted last weekend, finished the three-hitter for his first big save and extended his scoreless streak to 6 1/3 innings. New York was shut out for the sixth time, two shy of its 2024 total. Schmidt (4-4) had an extra day of rest after he threw a career-high 103 pitches over seven no-hit innings against Baltimore on June 21. He gave up four runs and four hits in six innings. Rooker's fourth-inning homer on a hanging slider ended the longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starter since Don Larsen's 29 innings over 1957-58 and the longest within a season since Allie Reynolds' 30 in 1951, according to STATS. Kurtz's homer, on a cutter, followed a pair of four-pitch walks and landed behind the right field short porch. Yankees pitchers walked five and four of those runners scored. Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton appeared to take issue with Jacob Wilson after an inning-ending comebacker in the seventh, staring at the rookie. The reason was not clear. Paul Goldschmidt's sixth-inning single ended an 0-for-20 slide. Aaron Judge twice flied to the warning track with men on. Key moment Catcher Austin Wells picked up Max Muncy's popped bunt in the eighth, rather than letting the ball roll foul, leading to a three-run inning that included Tyler Soderstrom's sacrifice fly and Austin Wynns' RBI single. Key stat Kurtz has 12 homers this season, including 11 in the rookie's past 22 games. Up next Yankees RHP Marcus Stroman (0-1, 11.57), makes his first start since April 11 in Sunday's series finale after being sidelined by left knee inflammation. Former Yankee RHP Luis Severino (2-8, 4.83) starts for the A's. ___
