Stop the tennis ball machine, and hold the rackets ’cause Marion Bartoli is retiring :’(
This is seriously some sad news, ’cause she’s such a great tennis player. The 28-year-old French player tearfully called the game quits this past Wednesday night. Her body aching after a brutal loss, Bartoli said that she can’t deal with the constant pain that she experiences on the tennis court. During a press conference at the Western & Southern Open, Bartoli explained that she’s been experiencing pain in her injured left foot, right ankle, right hamstring, and Achilles tendon. I just really want to give her a hug, tissues, and a bunch of ibuprofen to take the pain away!
“I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play,” says Bartoli. “I’ve been doing this for so long. And yeah, it’s just body-wise, I can’t do it anymore.”
This Wednesday’s 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 loss to Simona Halep occurred a mere two months after her big victory at Wimbledon. After giving her all at Wimbledon, Bartoli’s pains started to return. “My body was really starting to fall apart, and I was able to keep it together, go through the pain – with a lot of pain – throughout this Wimbledon and make it happen. That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me,” says Bartoli.
During the conference, Bartoli expressed that her Achilles, hip, shoulder and back were aching during the match. “You know, everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No one will remember the last match I played here,” said Bartoli.
The shocking news also comes after Bartoli was heavily criticized by the media for her appearance, making BBC commentator John Inverdale and the Twitter-verse look like a bunch of total jerks. Sadly, the criticism must not have helped her aching body heal faster.
“It’s been a tough decision to take. I don’t take this easily…I felt I really, really pushed through the ultimate limits to make it happen. But now I just can’t do it anymore.”
At the beginning of the 2012 season, Bartoli reached a career-high ranking of No. 7, but she hadn’t won a Grand Slam tournament, thereby decreasing her ranking. The Wimbledon she won was her 47th such tournament, the most played by any woman (!), a win which pushed her rank back up to No. 7.
Marion, you gave it your all, and fought a great fight. But sometimes you just gotta do you, and Bartoli’s judgement seems on point at this match point.
Thanks to ESPN
Photos via ESPN and The Mirror
