BAD HOMBURG, Germany (AP) — World No. 3 Jessica Pegula beat five-time major champion Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-5 to win the grass-court Bad Homburg Open and extend Swiatek’s year-long title drought on Saturday.
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 American's career.
Click to Gallery
Poland's Iga Swiatek wipes her face after the final match at the WTA tennis tournament against US Jessica Petula in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula celebrates after winning against Poland's Iga Swiatek in the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Poland's Iga Swiatek wipes her face during the final match at the WTA tennis tournament against US Jessica Petula in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula plays a shot against Poland's Iga Swiatek durimg the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula poses with the trophy as she won against Poland's Iga Swiatek in the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
World No. 8 Swiatek sought her first trophy since the 2024 French Open and 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 runner-up.
Although Swiatek hit nine aces in the final on Saturday, she also dropped her serve twice. Pegula saved the only break point she faced.
Still, Swiatek took heart from her performance.
“This tournament shows there is hope for me on grass,” she said. “I’m happy we can play here and I’m happy I could prove that.”
The former No. 1 has won four French Opens 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
Poland's Iga Swiatek wipes her face after the final match at the WTA tennis tournament against US Jessica Petula in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula celebrates after winning against Poland's Iga Swiatek in the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Poland's Iga Swiatek wipes her face during the final match at the WTA tennis tournament against US Jessica Petula in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula plays a shot against Poland's Iga Swiatek durimg the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
US Jessica Pegula poses with the trophy as she won against Poland's Iga Swiatek in the final match at the WTA tennis tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.
Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:
— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”
— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.
—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.
Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”
— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
