Iga Swiatek could reach double figures for grand slam titles but Wimbledon may be a stumbling block, according to Marion Bartoli.
Speaking to Stats Perform, Bartoli said she did not expect any player on the WTA Tour to match the "greatness" of Serena or Venus Williams.
The Frenchwoman, who won the 2013 Wimbledon women's singles title, also claimed the level of competition is currently not as strong as it was for the previous generation.
She is sold on Swiatek, though, who added to her 2020 and 2022 French Open titles by winning the US Open earlier in September.
The 21-year-old Polish player has emerged as the clear world number one since Ash Barty retired in March, stringing together 37 consecutive wins at one point until Alize Cornet beat her in round three at Wimbledon.
A lull in her performances followed that exit on the grass, but Swiatek fought her way through the field to triumph in New York.
"I was very impressed by how Iga this time with the US Open came with absolutely zero confidence and still found a way to win, and that is really a champion's mind," Bartoli said.
""She played really not great tennis in Toronto, not good tennis in Cincinnati, didn't play that well before the US Open. Whatever she worked on with her coach, she went on and plugged in for seven matches and to win the title, which is very impressive.
"So I think the level it's not at the highest, but I think the way she has been able to handle the pressure and go for it and win was absolutely very, very impressive.
"And she will win more. For sure she will win more on clay, she will win more on normal, slower hardcourts. Maybe not grass, but slow hard court is really a good surface for her as well. So easily between five and 10 for Iga, easily."
With Serena Williams saying a fond farewell to competitive tennis at the US Open, the women's tour has lost a 23-slam giant. In Bartoli's mind, there may be nobody of the great American's prowess to emerge for many years to come.
She said: "I think it's unfair to ask any of the current women's players to be as dominating as Serena was, or you know Venus as well.
"You just can't ask them to be at that level of greatness. You get that one out of a century or even two centuries. So I think we will have to wait a while before we get the next Serena Williams.
"And even Coco [Gauff] has talked about it, [saying] 'I'm not Serena, I will probably not get 23 grand slams like Serena you know, so stop putting pressure on me'.
"I think they're just trying their hardest, they're just trying their best, but obviously as Maria Sharapova said and I agree with her, the level of competition we used to have when all of us were playing was I think higher than what it is now."
Bartoli pointed to the example of Emma Raducanu, as a near-unknown, winning the US Open last year. She said that triumph for the British teenager was "out of any rational thoughts".
"This year she lost first round [to Cornet] and she dropped to 80 in the world," Bartoli added.
"You know that someone at 80 and someone at five, there is not so much of a difference in terms of level. And that's why you see those sort of upsets and constant change."
Raducanu fights through tough Stearns test to progress in Seoul
Emma Raducanu dug deep to grind out a marathon straight-sets victory over Peyton Stearns to progress at the Korea Open on Tuesday.
The Brit, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, needed two tie-breaks to win, holding off Stearns 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 46 minutes.
The play was delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat before the pair traded breaks in the opening three games, with Raducanu at one point holding a 4-1 lead before Stearns fought back to force the first tie-break.
Raducanu prevailed but was put straight back under pressure in a lengthy opening game of the second set, saving break point three times to get off the mark.
There was little to separate the two throughout though, as they continued to trade breaks before the 2021 US Open champion found her edge again to take the tie-break.
She will face last year's Korea Open runner-up Yuan Yue in the next round.
Data Debrief: Going the distance
Raducanu was playing her first match since being knocked out of the US Open, and she was certainly made to work for the victory.
It featured a combined tally of 28 break points and 12 breaks of serve, with eight of those coming in a topsy-turvy first set.
Raducanu successfully saved nine of 15 break points compared to seven of 13 for Stearns.
Ronaldo can reach 1,000-goal milestone before retirement - Jorge Andrade
Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of reaching 1,000 career goals as long as he continues to look after his body, according to Jorge Andrade.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner netted his 900th goal for club and country in Portugal's 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia on 5 September.
Ronaldo then added to his tally with a late winner in the 2-1 victory over Scotland three days later, setting him on his way to reaching the four-figure milestone.
Former Portugal star Jorge Andrade, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, backed his compatriot to do just that.
"With Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing is impossible," Andrade said to Stats Perform.
"Since we've watched football, the idea of the 1,000 goals is associated with our great idol, Pele.
"But nowadays, both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have managed to overcome other idols, Diego Maradona and Pele.
"They managed to be the highlight of the football game in a short time. It's not surprising Ronaldo can break that record. He looks after his body.
"He has a history of very few injuries. In terms of the Portuguese national team and the league he is in, he manages his efforts well."
Ronaldo has scored 132 of his goals for Portugal, with whom he won Euro 2016, while the other 769 have come at club level.
The 39-year-old has scored 68 times for current club Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has spent the past 20 months.
While Ronaldo continues to score freely in the Middle East, long-time rival Messi is now plying his trade in the United States with Inter Miami.
Andrade, best remembered for his time at Deportivo during his playing career, believes both deserve credit for taking on challenges elsewhere.
"The most important thing for them is that they share the experiences they have even in adverse environments," he said.
"For example, Messi now plays in MLS. It's a difficult league; it's a league that doesn't have much visibility.
"He managed to be there and increase visibility. Cristiano Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia and it's a complicated environment.
"He increased the visibility of that championship, making it attractive for other players to play who had just the five major leagues as the main goal to play.
"In other words, these two players have changed the world of football."
Raducanu named in Great Britain team for Billie Jean King Cup
Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.
The 2021 US Open winner will be joined by Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls for the event in Malaga.
Britain defeated France in April to qualify for the knockout stage, with four of the aforementioned five - Watson the exception - taking part.
Captain Anne Keothavong named her five-member team on Monday ahead of the showpiece, which runs from November 13 to 20.
"We are really looking forward to the finals in Malaga after qualifying following our fantastic weekend in France in April," Keothavong said.
"Our team have created excellent memories and put in outstanding performances in this competition in recent years.
"We will relish the opportunity. There is still a lot of tennis to be played, and changes can be made up until the day before our first match."
All 12 teams announced their line-ups on Monday, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff notable names not included for Poland and the United States respectively.
World number one Swiatek and world number six Gauff feel they are unable to compete due to a quick turnaround in events to end the year.
US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro is also out of the USA squad.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
