Former Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli to make tennis return at Monterrey Open

WIMBLEDON winner Marion Bartoli will make her return to competitive tennis at the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico on April 2.

The tournament’s official Twitter account confirmed Bartoli, 33, had accepted a wildcard invite.

Jamie McPhilimey - The Sun

The message read: “Marion Bartoli, first champion of the AbiertoGNPSeguros receives wildcard to confirm his attendance at the tournament!”

Bartoli has not featured in a WTA or Grand Slam draw since losing to Simona Halep in Cincinnati in August 2013.

Shortly afterwards she announced her retirement.

Bartoli shocked the tennis world by calling it a day little over a month after winning her first Grand Slam title at the All England Club, saying her body could not take any more.

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A virus picked up on holiday saw her lose an extreme amount of weight[/caption]

The Frenchwoman won eight WTA titles over the course of a distinguished career, reaching a career high ranking of No 7 in the world.

Bartoli announced she planned to return to tennis in December after overcoming a mystery illness and losing a lot of weight.

Bartoli said: “The stopping of my first career in 2013 was heartbreaking as I finally felt I had mastered everything to win these big tournaments, realise my dreams.

“I unfortunately had to stop for a fairly severe injury to my right shoulder, which prevented me from continuing to play at the highest level. It was very difficult to accept as everything stopped suddenly when I still had many goals to achieve.

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Bartoli has struggled with weight issues in recent years[/caption]

“If what happened to me in 2016 did not happen, I do not think I would have had this feeling as powerful to want to come back on the courts.

“The genesis comes from the most difficult day of my life, when Wimbledon decided not to allow me to play the legends tournament because they thought I could have a cardiac arrest on the court and die.

“From that moment, I swore that if one day I was healthy again, I wanted to try to relive what I had been lucky enough to live three years before, when I had won the tournament.”