Bartoli’s “Retirement” Might Be Short lived

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 5th September 2013

Bartoli’s “Retirement” Might Be Short lived

epa03777980 Marion Bartoli of France returns to Sabine Lisicki of Germany during the women's final for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2013. EPA/KERIM OKTEN |

Last month’s sudden “retirement” scenario for Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli may well be developing cracks after L’Equipe reported that the French player may have already decided to go ahead and play in January’s Hopman Cup, the eight-nation teams exhibition in Perth, Western Australia.

Only weeks ago, the event had trumpeted the inclusion of French combination of Bartoli and partner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga only later to face what had appeared to be a hole in the field when Bartoli pulled the plug on her career a fortnight ago after a loss in Cincinnati.

Now, it appears that the quirky Frenchwoman left the door ajar for a possible return to tennis for good reason, with Bartoli now hinting that she might as well just stay in training for the December 28 start in Perth, first event of the pre-Australian Open run-up.

Bartoli is in New York at the US Open. commentating for Eurosport in French and English and apparently keeping her public profile alive.

The 28-year-old held a media conference the day before the Open in which she suggested that her “retirement” could be interpreted in several different way, including – it appears – not actually retiring completely at all.

Topics: 10sballs, Australian Open, Cincinnati, Hopman Cup, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Marion Bartoli, Sports, Tennis, Wimbledon