Fans will be delighted that she is hoping to return to tennis soon

Barely a fortnight since she was barred from a ladies’ invitational match at Wimbledon on ‘medical grounds’, Marion Bartoli has tweeted a picture of herself undergoing treatment in an Italian clinic.

The retired French star booked herself in after worried fans flooded social media as her weight plummeted and she was left looking skeletal when TV commenting at the All England Club.

Said to have lost more than 3st since retiring three years ago, she finally disclosed that she was ill, suffering from a virus that stopped her from eating.

Today in a photograph showing her draped in a sheet on a clinic bed, Bartoli gave a victory sign to the camera and captioned the picture: ‘Blood transfer done. On my way to recovery.’

Today in a photograph showing her draped in a sheet on a clinic bed, she gave a victory sign to the camera and captioned the picture: ‘Blood transfer done. On my way to recovery.’

She sealed it with a lipsticked kiss and tagged it: Be careful @serenawilliams Soon I’ll return your serve.

The picture will come as welcome relief to fans world-wide who watched the previously rounded, healthy star become increasingly gaunt; her arms and legs sinewed; and looking far older than her 31 years.

Forty-eight hours after the Wimbledon Ladies Invitation Doubles was withdrawn she revealed:

‘I have a virus that my body is fighting. That’s why I can’t eat anything. I am going to have to go to a clinic, in Italy, at the end of Wimbledon.’

Forty-eight hours after the Wimbledon Ladies Invitation Doubles was withdrawn she revealed she had a virus. She is pictured after the Australian Open 2016

She added that she believed being in hospital would be ‘a good experience.’

Previously she had staunchly defended her shrinking shape and what appeared to be an increasing obsession with working out.

She was adamant that she had merely returned to her natural shape and ‘tiny frame’ as she threw herself into a new career as a clothes designer and commentator.

She said in an interview: ‘I’m completely gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, salt free and everything organic.

‘I eat steamed vegetables, salads, cucumbers.’

Winner: BBC commentator John Inverdale sparked a huge sexism row when he said she was ‘never going to be a looker' after she won Wimbledon (pictured) in 2013

The picture will come as welcome relief to fans world-wide who watched the previously rounded, healthy star become increasingly gaunt Previous look: Marion pictured in London in July 2013

Many of her fans continually begged her to eat more or stop whatever she was doing to remain so thin.

Bartoli became a Wimbledon crowd favourite during her last year when John Inverdale infamously asked Radio 5 Live listeners whether they thought Bartoli’s father told her: ‘you’ve never going to be a looker.’

When he apologised later at the Champions’ Ball, she tossed it off saying: ‘Don’t worry about that, what do you think of my heels.’

But friends knew the jibe had hurt her, no matter what she said.

Yesterday, within minutes of tweeting to her 84.2k followers, they were responding with love and wishing her well….no doubt vastly relieved that their heroine was on the way up.