Key Takeaways
- Ex-Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes it's time for women to play five sets.
- Bartoli told RG why she thinks women are ready for the challenge after the 2025 Wimbledon final, where Iga Swiatek dominated Amanda Anisimova.
- The 2013 winner also explained why Anisimova was already at a disadvantage before she even took the court against Swiatek.
Marion Bartoli (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)
LONDON – Grand Slam finals best-of-five in women’s tennis? A Wimbledon champion believes female players are physically ready for the challenge.
“Women are absolutely capable of playing best-of-five sets,” said Marion Bartoli in an interview with CLAY and RG Media in London.
The Frenchwoman, Wimbledon champion in 2013 and runner-up in 2007, weighed in on the debate after the 2025 final. Iga Swiatek defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes.
“That final was special, so I don’t think you can take that one example and extrapolate it to say that women should play best-of-five. Usually we see longer finals, like the one at Roland Garros. It’s a discussion the players need to have with the WTA,” Bartoli said.
This is not a new idea in tennis. Women did play best-of-five finals for 15 years at the WTA Finals. Between 1984 and 1998, the title went to the player who won three sets.
Steffi Graf lifted the trophy five times during that period, twice winning in five sets (against Anke Huber in 1995 and Martina Hingis in 1996). The other five-set final came in 1990, when Monica Seles defeated Gabriela Sabatini. These remain the only matches in the Open Era to feature a deciding fifth set.
The Grand Slams have yet to explore that format.
“Players from my generation could have taken on the challenge too. Absolutely,” said Bartoli, a former world No. 7 and winner of eight professional titles.
“Taking that step would require today’s players to sit down and really consider whether it’s what’s best for women’s tennis or not. It’s not up to us, the former players, to make that decision.”
Bartoli on Anisimova: “She Was Exhausted”
Was it nerves? Fitness? The Frenchwoman believes several factors explain Amanda Anisimova’s underwhelming performance in the 2025 Wimbledon final, but she emphasises the North American’s physical condition.
“Amanda arrived tired, physically drained. In her press conference she even said that during her morning warm-up she had to sit down multiple times, that she was already low on energy. She had come through long, tough three-set matches against Aryna Sabalenka and also against Linda Nosková,” Bartoli told CLAY.
“Being in that position for the first time surely left her physically exhausted going into the match. And on top of that, facing Iga, who was brilliant and gives you absolutely nothing… She was dominating on serve, on return, from the baseline. It was a very tough matchup for Amanda because she never found her rhythm. She couldn’t serve well, she couldn’t dictate from the baseline, and she lacked the clean ball-striking she’d shown earlier,” analysed the 40-year-old former player.
“All of that can be attributed to fatigue, and to the pressure and nerves of playing a Grand Slam final,” she added.
