Wimbledon 2013 champion, Marion Bartoli, says she is quitting tennis with immediate effect because of persistent injury.
Her decision comes six weeks after the Frenchwoman beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final to claim her only Grand Slam title.
She made the announcement at a media conference following defeat by Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
“I just can’t do it anymore,” she told reporters.
Just last month, the overwhelmed 28-year-old lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish in grand style with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Lisicki at the All England Club, sixteen years after missing out on his first shot at the Championships.
But it was the 7th seed’s second round loss to Halep on Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open that culminated her retirement.
A hamstring injury has troubled Bartoli since Wimbledon and in Montreal last week she retired in the second set of her third round match against Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova. She complained of soreness in her Achilles, shoulder, hips and lower back.
“That was actually the last match of my career,” an emotional Bartoli said, after her shock exit to a player far below her in the world rankings on Wednesday.
“Sorry. It’s time for me to retire and call it a career. I feel it’s time for me to walk away actually.”
