Bartoli refuses to rule out U-turn on retirement

In the immediate aftermath of her shock decision to retire, which came just 40 days after she won Wimbledon, the Frenchwoman was adamant she would not change her mind.

Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis – now back in the game for a third time – have all returned to the tour after spells in retirement in recent years, and Bartoli has not yet asked to be taken out of the rankings. She insisted she has no regrets over her decision, and is greatly enjoying exploring New York as a tourist, but has left the door ajar.

“I haven’t even thought about [the retirement] since then,” she said. “I’m just enjoying so much the things I can do every day that I didn’t have time to do when I was a tennis player. I feel very good about it. You never know what’s going to happen. I’m still in the rankings and I think I will be there until the end of the year and then we will see. It’s pretty hard to say I will never come back.”

At a press conference in New York, Bartoli insisted she will not find it difficult living without such highs as she experienced at Wimbledon.