Marion Bartoli asks question involving Iga Swiatek immediately after Aryna Sabalenka wins the Miami Open title

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Aryna Sabalenka secured a convincing win in the Miami Open final to clinch her eighth WTA 1000 title.

World number one Sabalenka had lost in the Indian Wells final earlier this month but was determined to go one better in Miami.

Sabalenka dominated Jasmine Paolini in the last four to book her place in the Miami Open final, where she faced off against a familiar opponent.

For the third time in less than a year, Sabalenka took on Jessica Pegula in a ‘big’ final on American soil.

Just as she did in their two previous meetings, Sabalenka beat Pegula in straight sets, lifting the Miami Open title for the first time in her career.

After the match, one former WTA Grand Slam winner looked ahead to the rest of the season, questioning whether Sabalenka could end her greatest rivals’ dominance on the clay.

Marion Bartoli says it will be ‘interesting’ to see if Aryna Sabalenka can end Iga Swiatek’s French Open run

World number two, Iga Swiatek, has won three consecutive French Open titles, in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the Miami Open final, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli looked ahead to this year’s tournament at Roland Garros.

“It is going to be interesting because Iga Swiatek has been the dominant player on clay for five years now but you can see the dynamics starting to shift a little bit,” she said.

“Is it going to shift completely, to the point where Iga Swiatek is not holding the Roland Garros title at the end of the season?

“A lot of things have been happening with Swiatek, specifically the coach change.

“So let’s see if she is able to hold that title because [Aryna] Sabalenka is knocking at the door louder and louder, and she is really looking to get that title.

“She was playing some really great tennis on clay, let’s see if she can bring that to Roland Garros.”

Swiatek suffered a shock defeat to Alexandra Eala in Miami and is the highest-ranked women’s player yet to win a title in 2025.

Bartoli went on to predict the Grand Slam tournament she thinks Sabalenka will win in 2025.

“Wimbledon will be the biggest one for me because the grass, with her pace and her power, it should be the surface where she is going to be holding the trophy at the end,” she said.

“So [an] absolutely thrilling three months coming for all of us.”

How have Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek performed at Wimbledon throughout their careers?

Bartoli thinks the next three months will be ‘thrilling’ on the WTA Tour as Swiatek and Sabalenka search for gold at Wimbledon, but how have the pair fared on the grass during their careers to date?

Wimbledon has been the worst-performing Grand Slam event for both players, as the world’s number one and two hold identical 11-5 records at SW19.

Of the two, Sabalenka has come closest to reaching the final, narrowly losing out at the semi-final stage in 2021 and 2023.

• 2023 Wimbledon SF – Aryna Sabalenka lost to Ons Jabeur, 7-6, 4-6, 3-6
• 2021 Wimbledon SF – Aryna Sabalenka lost to Karolina Pliskova, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6

Sabalenka’s three-set loss to Ons Jabeur in the 2023 semi-final was particularly devastating, having worked so hard to win the first set tiebreaker before losing in a decider.

The Pole, on the other hand, is yet to reach the last four in London, securing her career-best result in 2023 when she lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.

Only time will tell if either player can break through and win a first Wimbledon title in 2025, but it will certainly be worth watching when the tournament begins on June 30.