AP, BBC, InterAksyon (Phillipines)
Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement just 40 days after winning her first-ever Grand Slam in London.
The 28-year-old French player made the announcement from a media conference in Cincinnati after losing to Romania’s Simona Halep at the Southern and Western Open. “I just can’t do it anymore,” she told the Associated Press, citing her many injuries since the start of the year. “I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play.”
The No. 8 seed turned pro in 2000 and won seven titles on the Women’s Tennis Association tour before finally winning a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, where she had finished runner-up in 2007.
She broke records with her Wimbledon win, having played in 47 Grand Slam tournaments before finally winning one — more than any other female tennis player. “I’ve been a tennis player for a long time and I had a chance to make my biggest dream a reality,” she told the BBC. “It will stay forever with me, but now my body just can’t cope with everything.”
Famous for her on-court fidgeting and unconventional training routines, several former tennis players paid tribute to Bartoli on Twitter.
If I had ever won Wimbledon singles I would have retired ASAP. She always did things in her own style!!! Marion go live happily ever after.
— Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) August 15, 2013
What a shock the Genius Bartoli after her loss anounces her retirement from the game, I will miss all her crazy antics on the court
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) August 15, 2013
