Marion Bartoli shares what she noticed about Iga Swiatek while watching the Wimbledon final from the Royal Box

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Iga Swiatek played her sixth Grand Slam final on Saturday and produced a dominant performance to maintain her perfect record.

Having won her first five Grand Slam finals, many were expecting Swiatek to do the same again when she played Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final.

If the Pole felt any pressure to do so, she certainly didn’t show it, as Swiatek defeated Anisimova 6-0, 6-0, becoming the first player to deliver a ‘double bagel’ [6-0, 6-0] in a Wimbledon final in 114 years.

While Anisimova was far from her best on Centre Court, Swiatek was remarkable, reminding fans of the sport why she was ranked number one in the world for over two years.

Watching on from Wimbledon’s Royal Box, 2013 champion Marion Bartoli shared what she noticed about Swiatek during the final.

Marion Bartoli noticed Iga Swiatek’s ‘intensity between shots’ during Wimbledon victory

Speaking to the BBC, Bartoli revealed what she saw Swiatek doing between points that she found ‘extraordinary’.

“She was completely controlling the game from the back of the court, and one thing I noticed from the Royal Box, where you are so close to the player, you can really sense the intensity between shots,” she said.

“The movement, the shuffling, the noise even of the shoes were shuffling along the grass. Getting herself so low, controlling the pace, and then redirecting it was extraordinary.”

The Frenchwoman then named the one player who she believes could have challenged Swiatek in the Wimbledon final.

“Honestly, she could not do anything wrong, and it would have taken someone playing maybe [Aryna] Sabalenka at the absolute top to even challenge her,” said Bartoli.

“That is why, in a way, it was a little bit unfair for Amanda [Anisimova] because it’s your first ever Grand Slam final and you are facing someone who does not give you an inch or anything to work with.

“The match before it even started was very difficult because we know the mobility of Iga Swiatek, that she is capable of getting out of those corners, and that was the case today.”

Swiatek overwhelmed Anisimova in the final, piling on the pressure from the first point to the very last, as she secured the win in 57 minutes.

We’ll never know how Swiatek would have performed if Aryna Sabalenka had prevailed against Anisimova in the semis, but we can certainly try to figure it out.

Could Aryna Sabalenka have beaten Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final?

Losing out in three tense sets, Sabalenka was beaten by Anisimova 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Coming up short, she missed out on the chance to play her closest rival, Swiatek, in a Grand Slam final for the first time.

But how have the pair fared against one another on the WTA Tour, through their first 13 meetings?

Swiatek leads the head-to-head 8-5, although her last win over Sabalenka came over a year ago.

The Belarusian has won both of their meetings since, as she looks to turn the tide of their gripping rivalry.

It is, however, important to note that Swiatek and Sabalenka have yet to play each other on grass, having contested their previous 13 matches on clay and hard courts.

Watching Sabalenka and Swiatek before this year’s tournament, you would likely have favored the world number one to emerge victorious on the quicker grass courts, but that may not be the case anymore.

Swiatek transformed her game on what was historically her least successful surface, reaching the final in Bad Homburg before winning her maiden Wimbledon title.

We didn’t get to see the pair battle it out on Centre Court this time around, but perhaps Swiatek and Sabalenka will meet at Wimbledon in 2026, when the tournament begins on Monday, June 29.