Aged 36, Kim Clijsters to be back to competitions

By
Shailesh Sharma
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Kim Clijsters is a legend in the Grand Slam tennis courts. The Belgian tennis player is one of the few female tennis players to have ranked as the world no.1 in both singles and doubles in the same calendar year, which she achieved in 2003.  Clijsters has not been seen in a Grand Slam tennis court since 2012, but it seems that absence will end soon.

Kim Clijsters stages 2020 comeback

Delivering a shock, Kim Clijsters confirmed that she plans to return to professional tennis next year. The former world no. 1 said that fellow mothers Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams inspired her to return to professional tennis.

Clijsters admits that she has been thinking about a comeback for the past two years. She also said that her current goal is to improve her fitness enough so that she can perform well in next year’s tournaments. She hopes to be able to reach the second stage of the Grand Slams as well. She also clarified that since her 3 children are still young, she will most likely not be playing for the whole season.

At the age of 36, Clijsters is starting from scratch. Because of her seven-year absence in the WTA Tour, Kim is currently not in the world rankings. But as a former world no. 1, she does qualify for unlimited wildcards in WTA tournaments. If she will be able to earn ten ranking points or play three WTA tournaments, she will have the chance to re-establish her ranking.

This is not the first time that Clijsters returned to tennis. In 2007, she shocked the world when she announced that she is retiring at the young age of 23. Back then, she did it for two reasons: she wanted to start a family and because of injuries. She came back to professional tennis in 2009 and played for three more years.

Her legacy

Despite a relatively short career, Clijsters is considered among the best female tennis players in history. Tennis.com ranks her as the 14th greatest player to ever grace the women’s tennis circuit.

Her first return to professional tennis made Clijsters an icon because she became an inspiration for mothers in the sports scene. When she came back the first time, she won three more Grand Slam titles. She even ranked no. 1, making her the only mother to achieve that since the start of the WTA rankings in 1975.

She has also earned a reputation for being a favorite for both fans and players. She won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award eight times, which is a record.

 

Kim Clijsters

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