Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli retired from tennis after losing the second round match to Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4-,61 at the Cincinnati Masters here.
The 28-year-old veteran while announcing her decision Wednesday said she had injuries in her Achilles tendon, shoulder, hips and lower back throughout her career. She was the eighth seed of the tournament.
“I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play.... It’s just body wise. I just can’t do it anymore. Everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No one will remember the last match I played here,” said the World No.7.
“It’s time for me to retire and to call it a career. I feel it’s time for me to walk away actually,” said the 28—year-old in an emotional press conference.
“My Achilles is hurting me a lot, so I can’t really walk normally after a match like that, especially on the hard court when the surface is so hard. And my shoulder and my hips and my lower back. My body is just done,” she added.
The French girl, who won over $11 million in prize money during her 13-year career, decided to retire just two weeks before she was scheduled to compete in the US Open in New York.
Bartoli, who has been coached mostly by her doctor father, Walter, said it was the Wimbledon win that helped her reach the summit but it also took a toll on her physical and mental well being.
“I’ve been a tennis player for a long time, and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality. I felt I really, really pushed through the ultimate limits to make it happen. But now I just can’t do it anymore,” she said.
Bartoli said she gave her everything for the Wimbledon win.
“I’ve been through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year. I really pushed through and left it all during that Wimbledon. I really felt I gave all the energy I have left inside my body. It (Wimbledon) will stay forever with me, but now my body just can’t cope with everything,” she said.
Bartoli said she took the tough call after a discussion with her father.
“It’s been a tough decision to take, I don’t take this easily. He (father) knows, more than anyone, how much I worked and what I did to make it happen, to make my dream a reality,” she said.
“He is proud of me. He is proud of what I did and he kind of knew I just couldn’t do it anymore. He kind of felt it.”
Asked what she plans to do next, Bartoli said: “I’m sure I will find something. I just need a bit of time to kind of settle down.”
