Former champ Marion Bartoli hits back at weight trolls days before Wimbledon begins
Sport star says her slim frame is natural
FIRST they said she was too fat, now they say she is too thin – no wonder Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli is sick of all the talk about her weight.
When the French tennis ace won Wimbledon in 2013, it wasn’t her incredible achievement — the first Grand Slam title of her career — which made headlines.
Instead it was the sexism storm whipped up by sports commentator John Inverdale’s remark that she was “never going to be a looker”, as well as vile online comments about her shape and looks.
Three years on, Marion, 31, is launching a new career as a fashion designer with a range of sportswear for Fila.
Since quitting tennis she has lost five stone and is delighted with her new slimline figure. But once again, everyone is talking about her appearance rather than her new career move.
On Twitter she has been body-shamed, with some saying she looks “ill”, “unrecognisable” and “super scary”.
Marion is dismissive of the criticism, insisting her weight loss is healthy.
Speaking to The Sun, she says: “It has happened naturally. My natural frame is quite tiny, that is the way my mum and dad are.
“I have just gone back to my natural shape. All that shows you is the amount of effort I had to put in to become the tennis player I was.
“The difference in weight is pure muscle. The time I spent in the gym to build myself into a player who could become a Wimbledon champion — I would do whatever it takes.
“It is all about commitment, it is all about goals, and now my goal is to be a successful fashion designer.”
Marion was only eight when she vowed that she would one day win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon. From then on her life revolved around achieving that dream.
At the height of her career she was spending hours a day in the gym, lifting 200kg weights and building the powerful muscles that would make her a winner.
I would love to be the next Stella McCartney
All that hard work paid off when she won Wimbledon aged 28. She retired a month later with her tennis ambitions fulfilled.
But John Inverdale’s comment must surely have soured her moment of glory. He asked Radio 5 Live listeners: “Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little, ‘You’re never going to be a looker?’”
Whatever hurt and humiliation that remark caused her at the time, Marion is graciously diplomatic about Inverdale now. The pair even work together as commentators at ITV.
She says: “Now working in TV myself I can completely understand.
“I know that after two weeks we are all completely drained and it is difficult to be on air 9am to very late for all that time.
“I truly like John, he never meant to say it like that and it can happen to anybody. We have a great relationship and we don’t look back, we look forward.”
Even so, it is hard not to make the link between the public scrutiny of her body and her dramatically changed figure.
She still works out five times a week, although she has replaced weight training with yoga, Pilates and ballet, and she eats mainly vegetables, salads, grains and protein shakes.
She weighs eight stone and has just nine per cent body fat.
Marion herself admits: “If I tried to be a Grand Slam champion the weight I am now I don’t think I would succeed.”
Selfies on her Instagram page show her flaunting impressively toned abs and matchstick slim legs. But Marion insists none of this was a concentrated effort to change her body. She says: “I am eating very cleanly. I eat gluten-free and dairy-free, but it’s all for my health and wellbeing not because I want to be on a conscious diet, just because I love to eat and cook clean food.
“My weight has been adapting to that. But for me, first and foremost, it is about being in great health and being able to chase the projects that matter to me.”
Right now, that means fashion design and Marion is pursuing her new career as relentlessly as she fought for the Wimbledon title.
As usual, she is not doing anything by half measures and has already gained a degree in printing and design from renowned London fashion college Central St Martins.
She says: “I always loved to design and it has always been something I have had inside me.
“I even used to take my own paints with me on the tennis tour. I always had this artistic part.”
Marion has designed a range of fashion-inspired tennis clothing for Fila. Called Love Fila by Marion Bartoli it has already won coveted spots in Harrods and Selfridges.
Professional tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Karolina Pliskova will be wearing pieces from the collection at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday. But ever ambitious, Marion is already aiming higher.
She says: “I love Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld, I would love to be like them.
“I am a baby in fashion though so I have to take baby steps. But that would be my Wimbledon in fashion, so I keep my eye on the prize.”
I put on 5 stone of muscle to be Wimbledon champ
Marion also flies around the world to commentate on Grand Slams for BBC, ITV, Eurosport, ESPN and Sky Sports, among others.
At Wimbledon she will be working for Fox Sport Asia and the BBC.
Her favourite to win the women’s title this year is her good friend Serena Williams. Marion says: “We WhatsApp each other and are very close. I truly hope she can do well.”
Is it strange for her to be a spectator rather than a player, after all those years on the tennis circuit?
Marion says: “It was a very special day in my life, something I will be able to treasure for ever, but I have new projects and new things.
“I use my Wimbledon final as my inspiration. Whenever I am in doubt or need a confidence boost, I put it on my computer and I am ready to take on the world.
“Actually, when I got my first order for my clothing line I was as excited as I was when I got the Wimbledon trophy.”
She may have a new look, but it is the same fighting spirit. You’d be a fool to underestimate Marion Bartoli — whatever her size.
- Love Fila by Marion Bartoli is available from Harrods, Selfridges and online at fila.co.uk