At the age of 28, 40 days after her Wimbledon success, Marion Badtoli has retired.
Bartoli, who beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final in July, said her Achilles, shoulder, hip and lower back hurt continually when she plays.
She added: "It's never easy, but that was actually the last match of my career. I just can't do it anymore."
After her 6-1 6-4 win at Wimbledon, Bartoli hinted that the physical demands of the sport were taking their toll. "That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me," she said on Wednesday.
The 2007 Wimbledon runner-up had won her first Grand Slam at the 47th attempt - the longest wait in women's tennis before a maiden Grand Slam.
Martina Navratilova, the former Wimbledon and Multi Grand Slam winner was very supportive. Nine-time Wimbledon singles champion speaking to BBC Radio 5 live.
"Sometimes your body just basically says 'that's it, I've had enough'.
"I was fortunate enough to retire on my timetable but many athletes can't, they retire when their body gives out and it sounds to me like she was in constant pain everywhere.
"It wasn't like it was the knee, or the hip or the shoulder it was like the whole body said 'I'm out of here'.
"Once you are in pain, I had bad knees for a few years, it takes all the fun out of playing because every step you take is painful.
Her victory at Wimbledon was overshadowed by John Inverdale's comments that she was "not a looker."
John has a face for radio...lets hope that Marion gets some work in the media and can show her experience, ability and grace....something that Mr Inverdale will never have.
Posted with Blogsy
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