Kim Clijsters, the 36-year-old tennis pro, announced her return to the sport with a tweet on a Sunday. After expressing hope for a spot at the Australian Open due to a knee injury, she instead received a wildcard for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Clijsters' tweet celebrated her acceptance of the wildcard, expressing excitement about returning to the field and looking forward to the journey ahead. She thanked her supporters and fans for their encouragement in the past few weeks.
A fan favorite, Clijsters last competed at an official event in 2012 at the US Open at age 29. Upon her retirement, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Year 2017 class.
This will be Clijsters' second return to tennis since 2009, where she had a successful comeback, winning three Grand Slam titles at the US Open 2009 and 2010, and the Australian Open 2011 after losing her first four Grand Slam finals. Her win at the 2009 US Open made her one of three WTA players to win a Grand Slam title after giving birth, joining Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong.
Clijsters began her professional tennis career with a debut at the 1999 Antwerp WTA event at 15 years old. In 2005, she claimed her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, and in 2008, she married American basketball player Brian Lynch and gave birth to daughter Jada. She later added two sons to her family, Jack (born 2013) and Blake (born 2016).
As a former world number 1, Clijsters holds 41 career singles titles and 11 doubles titles. Known for her versatility and grip strength, she is frequently granted unlimited wildcards as a renowned Grand Slam champion.
In preparation for her comeback, Clijsters gradually returned to tennis after returning from her first retirement with knee surgery and a COVID-19 diagnosis. In 2020, she participated in the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza. Post-surgery and COVID-19 recovery, she continued her training while competing in limited tournaments due to pandemic restrictions.
[1] "Kim Clijsters Begins Second Tennis Comeback with Wildcard at Dubai," International Tennis Federation, May 31, 2023.
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Kim Clijsters posted a photo on Monday of herself training with the Belgian Tennis national team in preparation for their Fed Cup Qualifying match against Kazakhstan.
Clijsters' Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships participation commences on February 17th.
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