Bartoli ends plan to return to WTA Tour

Friday, 15 June 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has abandoned her attempted return to the Tour, saying her right shoulder is not strong enough to cope with the rigours of professional tennis.

The Frenchwoman, 33, said last December that she planned to come out of retirement at this year’s Miami Open before deferring her return until later this year.

“To my dismay I must unfortunately stop my comeback attempt,” the Frenchwoman wrote on Twitter. “The necessary increase of training doses to try to find my best level caused pain again to my right shoulder, which become incompatible with a recovery at the highest level.”

Bartoli, who retired six weeks after her Wimbledon triumph in 2013, has suffered ill health since and said she “feared for her life” after dramatic weight loss in 2016.

She has worked in various media roles and was a TV commentator during this month’s French Open.

Former world number seven Bartoli hinted that she would like to remain in tennis in a coaching capacity.

“I have a deep desire to transmit all that the very high level has taught me, and I therefore want to invest myself in the training of a player to help her maximise her potential,” she said.