Former Wimbledon champ Marion Bartoli details health struggles that forced her to retire

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli opened up about the health struggles that ultimately forced her to leave the sport, saying the tournament "saved" her.

Bartoli steadily climbed the rankings during her career, losing the Wimbledon final in 2007 to Venus Williams before breaking through with the title in London with a victory in 2013 over Sabine Lisicki. She reached a career-high No. 7 in the rankings in 2012.

But in 2016 it started to fall apart to the point where she was losing so much weight the tournament organizers at Wimbledon became concerned.

"It was definitely the most challenging moment of my life," Bartoli told The Guardian. "I (was) slowly and gradually getting to anorexia. First of all, it was a desire to just lose weight and then after that, it became an obsession. What was my strength during my career, my mental strength – whatever was in front of me, to make it happen – that played against me because when you’re mentally so strong and you tell yourself to not eat, you can push that very far, which I did.

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"I damaged my body and I damaged my health massively. My parents were there trying to help me out. But when you’re in that state of mind, you just don’t accept help."

Philip Brook, the chairman of the All England Club finally intervened, telling Bartoli, "Marion, we just can’t let you play because we can’t take the risk that you have a heart attack on the court."

Bartoli said she was shocked by that statement but it ultimately did her some good.

“Wimbledon, in a way, saved me," Bartoli said. "That’s why it was so special, because Wimbledon made me and Wimbledon saved me three years later. If I didn’t have that wake-up call, I would probably keep on going down and down further."

The now-38-year-old says she then spent six months in an Italian hospital on a feeding tube.

"Three years ago, you were lifting a trophy and then you’re meeting Usain Bolt and you’re playing tennis with Elton John and all of a sudden, you’re by yourself in a hospital room. It’s a bit of a shocker," she says.

But months later after the hospital stay, she completed the New York City Marathon, finishing the race in five hours and 40 minutes.

"I went out of the hospital, took a plane to New York without any training whatsoever, seriously nothing," she says. "I finished in front of my parents, my nephews, with my brother, it was such an emotional moment. That was my renaissance."

Bartoli is now a part-time coach and will be covering Wimbledon for the British Broadcasting Corporation. She also has a 2-year-old daughter and was asked if she wanted her to follow in her footsteps.

"I want her to find a passion," Bartoli says. "I want her to feel like she’s passionate about something, whatever that might be, and then go at it at 100%."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli details health struggles