WTA roundup: Iga Swiatek reaches first grass final

Bad Homburg Open (Germany)

Fourth seed Iga Swiatek continued her 2025 campaign with a milestone victory Friday, reaching her first final of the year and her first-ever on grass at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.

Swiatek dispatched No. 2 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3 in just 66 minutes, facing only one break point. The win marked her 50th career victory over a top-10 opponent, and notably, her first such triumph on grass.

She’ll meet top seed Jessica Pegula in Saturday’s final. Pegula showed resilience, rallying from 5-3 down in the second set to defeat Czech Linda Noskova 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-1. Pegula won 10 of the final 11 games to close out the 2-hour, 7-minute match in dominant fashion.

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Lexus Eastbourne Open (England)

Alexandra Eala made history as the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA final, outlasting France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought semifinal in Eastbourne.

The 20-year-old Eala saved eight of 15 break points and surged late, winning the final three games to seal a 2-hour, 22-minute victory.

She’ll face 19-year-old Maya Joint, who reached her first grass-court final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.

Saturday’s final is one for the record books, marking the youngest title matchup at Eastbourne since 1981 — when Tracy Austin (18) defeated Andrea Jaeger (16).

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