World No 1 Iga Swiatek has signed up to play in Bad Homburg next year, the tournament announced. Swiatek, 21, will be making her debut on the grass courts of Bad Homburg in 2023.
This year, Swiatek competed only at Wimbledon during the grass season.
After winning the French Open and having a very successful clay season, Swiatek decided not to play much during the grass season. But in 2023, Swiatek seemingly plans to play at least one grass tournament leading up to Wimbledon.
Next year, the Bad Homburg event will be taking place the week before Wimbledon.
Swiatek still figuring out grass
Swiatek is a dominant force on clay and hard courts but she has yet to figure out how to be dominant on grass.
At this year’s Wimbledon, Swiatek suffered a shock third round defeat to Alize Cornet – that loss ended her stunning run of 37 matches without a loss. In August, Swiatek admitted there were still things she needed to learn about playing on grass and vowed to be wiser during the 2023 grass season.
“Above all, I felt that I still had a lot to learn about grass courts. It’s not an excuse, it’s the reality – I have the aptitude to play on grass but I can’t yet do it on a satisfactory level. After that match, I was also very tired.
Many months of playing tournaments, six finals in a row made it all very demanding and maybe it was a time to rest a bit. The second half of a season is difficult because players are more tired physically and mentally, away from home for many months.
That’s why I’m glad I had a few days to rest. I have learnt my lessons from the short season on grass and will approach the next one wiser with this year’s experience,” Swiatek said after Wimbledon.
