“It’s time for me to retire and call it a career. I feel it’s time for me to walk away actually.”

Bartoli blamed a succession of injuries for her decision to call it a day – citing in particular an Achilles problem which was troubling her on the hardcourts.

“My body just can’t do it anymore,” she said. “I’ve already been through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year. I’ve been on the tour for so long, and I really pushed through and left it all during that Wimbledon.