By Scoop Malinowski
Marion Bartoli has announced she will return to professional tennis in 2018.
The Wimbledon champion of 2013 abruptly left the sport later that summer in August under a haze of curiosity as just shortly before the sudden retirement announcement, Bartoli was quoted saying she was really looking forward to playing hard courts in the US.
At an emotional press conference at the Cincinnati Open, just 40 days after her Wimbledon victory, Bartoli said “I made my dream a reality and it will stay forever with me, but now my body just can’t cope with everything. I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play.”
After stopping her career, Bartoli, 33, worked as a TV commentator. Her weight fluctuated to the extreme, appearing well over her playing weight at the 2014 US Open and then a year later suddenly looking rail thin like a model or marathon runner.
She ran and finished the 2016 New York City Marathon in five hours and forty minutes (Nov. 2016).
Bartoli, who won seven WTA singles titles and achieved a world no. 3 ranking, said in July of 2016 she suffered from some kind of virus but now she has regained her health and expects to be fit for competition by March for the Miami Open.
I have had a couple of interactions with Marion over the years. We did a Biofile at the US Open a few years before she won Wimbledon. And two years ago I commented to Marion at the Miami Open media cafeteria that she looks ready for a comeback and she smiled and gave me a silent shoosh gesture with her finger over her mouth.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
« Previous 1 2Andrew Miller · December 28, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Halep too, she is now at number one. Yet where is her slam? She shouldn’t be content with a Dinara Safina-like run at the top spot.
But, maybe Halep doesn’t see herself that way. Pliskova was undone by the top spot as well.
I’ve said this a few times, that perch seems a little cursed. Players don’t quote know what to do when they get there, and don’t seem to hire anyone to deal with the increased demands on them.
Andrew Miller · December 28, 2017 at 8:10 pm
Am interested in Bartoli comeback. I was interested in the Azarenka comeback. Her story is really upsetting. Everything seemed outstanding and then collapsed in a sea of personal problems.
I think back to one very rude reporter question to Bouchard about Azarenka, wondered even how that guy got credentialed. Since she left the tour, Azarenka hasn’t been herself.
catherine · December 29, 2017 at 1:45 am
Andrew –
I’m not serious about anyone being sued. I’m just saying that humans are humans, not machines, and arguing that, because Kerber underperformed this year,there were not very good reasons for her difficulties, some outside her control. And she hardly deserved some of the uncharitable stuff slung her way which did not reflect well on those who were sitting comfortably on the sidelines feeling free to criticise. (And I’m not referring to online comments.) Which is why Barbara Rittner said what she did.
Maybe it would be better for everyone if there were not such a big thing made about No 1 and then no one would get in such a tizzy about ‘slamless’ etc.
It’s not Simona’s fault she’s ended No 1. I’m sure her ambitions are just the same – win a big tournament in 2018.
catherine · December 29, 2017 at 1:52 am
And, just to have the last word, I don’t agree there was ‘zero competition’ in 2017. It was just a bit erratic.
Some of the matches at the end of the year were very good, when it comes to committment. 3 1/2 hours between Garcia and Svitolina ? That was ok.
Ashleigh Barty going from about 300 to top 20 ? Ok too.
Now neither Garcia or Barty may have the same results in 2018, but that’s the nature of the game. We have to live with it, not pile blame onto the players.
scoopmalinowski · December 29, 2017 at 7:26 am
With Serena away, the mice were still hesitant to play.
catherine · December 29, 2017 at 8:01 am
Scoop – sounds nice but what do you mean ? Just because different players won different tournaments ? When Serena eventually goes, as she must, are we going to have constant complaints about women not having committment, or fortitude or will to win etc.?
And once Fed/Nadal have gone, is it going to be the same with the men ?
Maybe the time of true dominance has gone – Federer and Serena will most likely both retire without the Grand Slam – how many have there been in the history of tennis ? 5 I think, and Laver did it twice
May never happen again and mice will rule 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · December 29, 2017 at 8:04 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Nadal sporting reallys hort shorts, like the 70s era short shorts of Borg and McEnroe and Connors. Never thought that style would return.
Andrew Miller · December 29, 2017 at 10:01 am
I don’t think the mice feel worthy of taking up the mantle. It’s like the fast foods motto, have it your way. Two slams but mediocre play Muguruza? Have it your way. Just won a slam I’m done! Sloane Stephens. I at least got number one you guys want a slam I sure as heck don’t! That would be Pliskova.
Andrew Miller · December 29, 2017 at 10:06 am
Not getting into a poor Angie! debate. She knows she lost the thread. I think there is some kind of relief when a player doesn’t defend their titles. There IS more pressure. There IS more scrutiny. That’s sport. Maybe care bear will line up some better resources for herself this year. Maybe without Serena around she felt more pressure because the path was that much more clear. Or maybe 2016 was special for her and that’s a wrap, seeya Angie!
Scoop Malinowski · December 29, 2017 at 10:20 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
No idea how Kerber is still trending so heavily on this site in late December 🙂 but one thing is for sure, the big hungry cat is about to come back, so the mice know they ain't gonna get jack 🙂
catherine · December 29, 2017 at 10:45 am
I’m not sure who started the Kerber debate – I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me, not this time. I’ve had my say, and it’s never been ‘poor Angie’.
Oh wait, now I remember – it was Andrew.
Sloane Stephens ? – the Peter Principle.
Cat back ? Mice can nibble nibble nibble and grab the cheese and be off in a jiffy and the cat’s clawing empty air.
Hopman Cup next but I’m not mentioning it because
mentioning it would mean mentioning the German team.
Andrew Miller · December 29, 2017 at 1:24 pm
Muguruza, Ostapenko, Stephens can answer question about the depth of wta tour, they stole the show this year. 2018 the X is on them to prove this year was the start of something bigger for their careers.
No reason for the wta to be one to two slam wonders tour, there’s plenty of room for pleasant surprises.
A lot less pressure on Sharapova, Azarenka, Bartoli. Basically they can sneak up on the field and play the role of spoiler this year.
Who knows.
Care bear isn’t worth any more electronic ink. Maybe her fellow German Lisicki could make another Wimbledon finals run.
Maybe even gasp Bouchard. Why not?
catherine · December 29, 2017 at 2:31 pm
Andrew –
That’s a pretty ungenerous comment about Kerber. Can’t imagine why you made it.
Lisicki has no more chance of reaching a Wimbledon final than I have. She can serve, and that’s about it.
Actually I don’t much care who wins what, as long as the tennis is worth watching.
Scoop Malinowski · December 29, 2017 at 5:16 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Kerber, Sloane, Muguruza, Kvitova, Halep all are multi millionaires. If you win a few big events you are gonna be super rich. I could see how most players lose some fire once they make the big money. Kuznetsova, Radwanska, Wozniacki, etc. Maria and Venus and Serena are the three freaks who want to keep adding to their trophy case and bank accounts. Wonder who will be the next WTA freak to join Maria and the W sisters?
Andrew Miller · December 29, 2017 at 6:16 pm
A certain player imploded. Why dispute it.
Money may be working against players. On the ATP tour maybe it us four players setting the bar.
Scoop Malinowski · December 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Kerber and Kuznetsova have had similar careers. Extraordinary results and then long stretches of ordinary results. Where Kerber goes from 2017 is an intrigue, one of many intrigues on the WTA Tour. Kerber is a decent attraction but she does not generate any extra buzz and excitement and she certainly does not transcend the sport. I think the WTA bosses and tennis powers that be would prefer a WTA no. 1 that generates extra buzz and that transcends the sport like Maria, Venus and Serena. It's all about $$$ and I think we can all agree Kerber's limited star power does not transmute into gigantic revenues and TV ratings and attracting new major sponsors, like Serena, Maria, Graf, Capriati, Sabatini, Kournikova, Agassi, Sampras, Federer, Nadal, Borg, McEnroe, etc. I would not be surprised if Kerber senses this ambivalence and it effected her 2017 performance.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 2:34 am
Scoop – you are right to say very few players transcend the sport – and that’s so in other sports as well, however worthy their achievements might be. But I doubt stardom, or money, is a motivation for Kerber now. She is a big name in Germany, even though she is no longer the top ranked player, and will always be so. It’s pride and a wish to finally retire from a better place which probably drives her.
This time last year Angie was No 1 – now she is 21 and going down. That was one of the genuine stories of 2017.
I imagine the WTA would have liked Kerber to stay at the top, for $$$$ reasons, because she is nice looking, popular with fans and a representative of German brands which drive so much of the revenue in Europe and worldwide. But it wasn’t so, and the business bigwigs will have to look elsewhere.
I’d rather not spend time comparing players – they stand on their own, surely.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 2:44 am
Andrew –
Kerber imploded. I’m not disputing that. Who would ?
But’Care bear isn’t worth any more electronic ink’?
I’d never in million years say someone wasn’t worth writing about, not even if I thought it (and I have on occasion).
You’re free to ignore Angelique Kerber and any other players who don’t interest you. Quite easy.
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2017 at 8:43 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Catherine, I can't remember a world no. 1 dropping so far in one year. Kerber's drop from 1-21 in one year might be the biggest drop from no. 1 ever. Have to research that.
Andrew Miller · December 30, 2017 at 10:49 am
Glad someone is the care bear defender. Someone’s got to do it.
I like her, said that many times. She’s out of the conversation for now. Sort of like Cilic and Del Potro. I wouldn’t put her overall as a leading player, given that the rotation of winners on the wta tour has taken on new stars. The nature of the sport, it moves on, month after month.
Fortunately the expectations are very low for her now. But the wta tour is more competitive, thanks (in my opinion) to Pennetta, who grabbed a slam out of nowhere given some sterling play from another Italian that Pennetta had been playing her whole life. Meant to be.
Pennetta showed anyone can grab a slam and other wta players including Angelique took note and aimed and pulled off extraordinary feats. Having accomplished the impossible, what left was there for her to do?
She went where Lisicki, Huber, Petkovic couldn’t go, matched Serena Williams shot for shot for a glorious Australian title, went the distance again against a formidable Pliskova sister, seized the top spot. It was all unimaginable.
That’s the issue. Life changes at the number one spot. Mardy Fish, who I appreciate apart from the ridiculous Davis Cup 2004 finals, where he should have rode the bench, said as much. He had to leave the sport as he began to wonder whether he could keep up his level of play, as the questions ground him into the court. Fish as a top player was a casualty of his own drive to surpass his results.
So, no, Kerber isn’t in the mix these days. When it comes to being a contender for slams, she isn’t. It’s like Djokovic, who’s looking more and more like a guy who has no slams.
A player to me can’t ever “recreate the magic” to win a slam after they already have one or two or however many. It’s a different experience the next time. As far as I can tell Ms. K. entered the season seeing it as an opportunity to go back to places where she had a winning feeling but, to me, there’s no way she was prepared for the fact that she was different and those places were, also.
The sport changes quickly. If Alex Zverev goes ahead and wins the Australian he’ll quickly learn that it’s different even going into the next tournament. Like any player just before the match they’ll announce all the titles he won and his ranking and he’ll have a different set of expectations on his shoulders.
Cilic hasn’t been his US Open self since his title. Del Potro has struggled with major depression as well. Pennetta as we know retired. And players like Wozniaki took forever to get the form back that pushed her into the us open slam title versus Clijaters.
My opinion on all of this is the same, show us what you got. I can’t say Raonic has it in him to win a slam until he does it. I can’t say Djokovic will get over himself and get back to winning a slam until he does.
In a way it’s a compliment. Angelique has returned back to normal. No one expects anything, she hasn’t shown she’s playing well enough to do much. The wta tour is still a roller coaster and no player has been willing to take over and reign over the wta. Players may even have some relief that Serena Williams is returning to fill that void, or that Sharapova may fill the void. I can’t speak for everyone but I’ll say Halep is looking shaky up there, like Pliskova, Wozniaki, Safina…another number one who is number one in name only given mediocre results at the four biggest tournaments.
Andrew Miller · December 30, 2017 at 10:57 am
Plainly, number one used to mean something. Maybe like Scoop said a player can now swoop out of nowhere and win a slam and with endorsements basically live well and get tons of praise in their home country. Somewhat of a cocoon.
But, I’m all for great matches. I can talk all day about an extraordinary shot, like some that Rios pulled when he played Chang in their us open match (great match). I can rave about Wozniaki’s lobs. Or Bouchard’s courage a few years ago. Or Nalbndian’s two masters titles out of nowhere to shock the sport when Nadal and Federer had consolidated their grip on the ATP rour.
But I think it’s important to say like Scoop said, no ordinary drop there. Dramatic.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 11:47 am
Well, I’d agree with you and Scoop there, and it’s what I’ve been saying all year. The slide just went on and on. To me it was something exceptional.It was worth thinking about. When a talent appears to leave you, where does it go ? No easy answers and maybe no answers at all. Just the brain saying to the body – I’ve done enough. So I want a soft landing for AK.
Not even titles – just decent matches. Maybe some extraordinary shots – you can take a shot out of match and frame it and hang it up and remember. Evonne was good there. Some awful matches – sublime shots.
Novotna, in my view retired when you would have thought she was at her peak because she knew she could not reproduce the form of her ’98 W’don year, she saw the game changing and she knew she couldn’t change with it, and didn’t want to. So she just shut the door on the competitive life.
Can’t see Angie doing that yet but if this year is no good for her, then I think she will. She’s not Vinci, or Schiavone. She’s said, ‘tennis is my passion’, but she may take it somewhere else.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 1:26 pm
Meanwhile Hopman Cup is underway and there are some pretty good players in Perth. Maybe Zverev can be some support for Angie although she will be very nervous. No ranking points at risk.
Serena lost to Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi but overall I’d say she’s a certainty for AO so interest cranks up again.
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
1-21 in one year is a huge drop, maybe the biggest drop. Rios earned a $5m bonus for winning the Miami final vs Agassi to become no. 1 on top of his prize money he got $2.5m from both Nike and Yonex as bonuses for becoming no. 1. Wawrinka also got a huge bonus from Yonex when he was his first major in Australian in 2014. Imagine Sloane also got a hefty bonus from her racquet sponsor and Under Armor too, on top of the $4m prize money or whatever it was. These players hit the lottery when they win big so you can imagine there being a drop in desire, even that fraction drop is going to result in lesser results. I think Kerber hit her lottery and lost an edge.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 2:29 pm
Hasn’t seem to have affected Federer, or Serena, all that money. Or other players.
Might be part of the explanation but it’s not the whole one. If money was that important they’d want to go on making more surely ?
But I do think some players get easily distracted.
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2017 at 2:30 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Catherine, Fed, Rafa, Maria, Serena are freaks.
catherine · December 30, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Well – I don’t think it’s fair. Freaks should have their own tennis circuit where they compete only against each other 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2017 at 5:12 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Jack Kramer tried that with his pro tours. Successful for a while but the game changed. For the better.
Andrew Miller · December 30, 2017 at 6:59 pm
Kerber has a lot of range, her game at its heights is a sight to see. She’s not like JC Ferrero, whose game was uncompetitive after chicken pox, as if he woke up from a slumber and found himself on a whole new tour.
catherine · December 31, 2017 at 2:57 am
Andrew –
Chicken pox can be a nasty virus after childhood. Seriously.
Hopman Cup –
Kerber/Zverev against Little Belgium – tough. Angie’s coach is Belgian. Give her the lowdown on Bertens maybe. Or not.
Bouchard bounced out by Gavrilova.
WTA injuries – Garcia already down with back problem. I’d say her great run late last year was a flash in the pan. Ho hum. Step up Julia.