After years in the wilderness, Marion Bartoli returns to tennis with a new-found purpose in life
It is nearly five years since Marion Bartoli played a competitive match but the 33-year-old Frenchwoman is confident that she can make a successful return to the top.
“I don’t think the level of tennis now is so much better than when I won Wimbledon in 2013,” Bartoli told The Independent. “It might have improved a little bit, but I think I can match that.”
Bartoli, who retired just weeks after winning her only Grand Slam title, has been back in training since October and will make her first public on-court appearance on Monday at an exhibition event in New York. She plans to play her first comeback tournament at the Miami Open, which begins in just over a fortnight’s time.
Former Wimbledon champion Bartoli announces surprise return to tennis
“It’s been going great so far,” Bartoli said. “I’ve been enjoying the process of getting back into shape and being on the court and practising. Of course I can’t wait to be back on the court playing my first match.”
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BARTOLI: I Can Dominate The Current Players
Bartoli – who is due to play a Tie Break Tens event in New York on Monday alongside the Williams sisters – has hardly enjoyed a peaceful retirement since she quit the tour four-and-a-half years ago. She has endured an abusive relationship with an (unnamed) boyfriend, as well as suffering such dramatic weight loss that she was banned from participating in the “Legends” event at Wimbledon in 2016 in case her heart failed. |