"It's a discussion that players need to have with the WTA," says Bartoli on the format of the women's tour in Grand Slam

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 17/07/2025 à 09h06

2 min to read

Bartoli

It is one of the debates that most interests the WTA circuit players. Women are advocating for pay equality compared to men in tennis, although Grand Slam matches are not played in the same format on the men's and women's tours.

During Roland-Garros, world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka suggested that the players were not physically ready to play best-of-five sets in the four Major tournaments of the season.

This is a view not shared by former world number 7 Marion Bartoli, who believes that the WTA circuit will have to seriously convene to discuss the subject in the near future.

"Women are fully capable of playing best-of-five sets. The Wimbledon final was particular, and I don't think we can take that example to say that women shouldn't play best-of-five sets.

Usually, we see longer finals, like the one at Roland-Garros. It's a discussion that players need to have with the WTA. Players of my generation could have also taken up the challenge.

Maybe not throughout the entire tournament, but at least from the semifinals. Whether it's previous generations or now, women are and always have been ready for it.

We have played matches lasting more than three hours, even three and a half hours, which is longer than the men's final at Wimbledon. Of course, we could do it.

To take the plunge, players would have to sit down and have a conversation about it. Maybe they'll think that playing best-of-five sets is the best thing for women's tennis, or not.

In any case, it's up to them, and not us former players, to make that decision," developed Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon winner, for the media Clay in recent hours.