Kim Clijsters

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters listen? / I ( born June 8, 1983 in Blizen, Belgium) is a former Belgian tennis player. The eight-time finalist in the Grand Slam tournaments and winner of the U.S. Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and the Australian Open in 2011 was in both the single and double for several weeks world number one.

Tennis career

1999-2006: three Grand Slam title

In 1998, Clijsters as a junior the Wimbledon final, won in double the French Open on the side of Jelena Dokić and the U.S. Open with Eva Dyrberg.

Her debut in professional tennis, she gave in May 1999 in Antwerp. At the end of the year they won the first title in the individual in Luxembourg and in the double with Laurence Courtois in Bratislava. In 2001, she reached her first Grand Slam final in Paris, where she worked with 10:12 in the third set only narrowly lost Jennifer Capriati. She celebrated at the 2002 WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, where she in the final, the then number one, Serena Williams defeated, their first major success.

Clijsters was in 2001 along with Barbara Schett, Miriam Schnitzer and others with the TC Blau-Weiss Bocholt in the tennis Bundesliga and German Team Champion. Kim Clijsters is still a member of this association.

2003 was one of their most successful years. She won nine tournaments, including again the WTA Tour Championships, twice reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament ( they both lost to Justine Henin ), led some weeks at the world rankings and finished the season in second place behind her compatriot Henin.

The year 2004 began with an ankle injury that she had, however, recovered from in time for the Australian Open, the final she lost again against Henin. Because of a tendinitis in his left wrist ( suffered in March at Indian Wells ) and the surgical removal of a cyst Clijsters missed ten months on the tour and fell in the rankings back to square 134.

In 2005 she won for her comeback in February in Antwerp in March, the successive tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, which until then had only been able Steffi Graf. Within six months, she won three more tournaments, returned to the Top Ten, and received the award in San Diego "Comeback Player of the Year". In 16 tournaments played it reached nine finals, which they won them all. No other player has won more individual titles this year. For the first time she won a Grand Slam singles tournament (U.S. Open) with a two- set victory over the Frenchwoman Mary Pierce. They also helped the Belgian Fed Cup team to victory over Argentina by winning both the singles and the doubles with Els Callens. For the second time in her career, she finished the season as No. 2 in the world.

The year 2006 began with the victory at the show tournament in Hong Kong. Less well it ran at the WTA tournaments. In Sydney, she was injured in training at the hip and had to cancel their quarterfinal match. At the Australian Open, she stepped in with the painful hip and bruised back and still came to the semifinals, where she then took her ankle in the third set against Amélie Mauresmo. This injury forced Clijsters to a two-month break. Rest of the year then went back quite successful. She won in Warsaw and for the fourth time in Stanford, reached the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon - she lost both times again against Henin - and led the Belgian team in the Fed Cup final. Due to a re- injury in his left wrist she got into Montreal from as early as the second round. Also on their title defense at the U.S. Open and participation in the Fed Cup final they had to do without.

2007: Farewell Year and Returns

Already in August 2005, Clijsters had expressed resignation thoughts: " I think I 'll quit after the 2007 season. My body gives me a lot of problems. " "I am only 22, but my body feels much older ." In her then seven -year professional career, she had a lot of injuries behind him. After their wrist surgery in 2004 her doctors had given little hope of ever being able to play again. From this time partitioned Clijsters her career into two sections: those before and after this severe injury. " All I can now see, is just an extra bonus ."

She began the 2007 season as the previous one with an Exhibition in Hong Kong, where she defended her title with a win over Maria Sharapova. Since its operation in the tournament, she started on the side of Svetlana Kuznetsova and doubles for the first time. A week later, she won as early as 2003 the tournament in Sydney. In Melbourne, they were on the way to the semifinals from only one set, but then defeated Sharapova 4:6, 2:6. In Antwerp, she reached the final, which she lost to Amélie Mauresmo 4-6, 6:74. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, she came into the second round, they lost to the Chinese Li Na. On her last clay court tournament in Warsaw, she lost in the second round already 6:73, 3:6 against Yulia Wakulenko. This match was up to her later Comeback ( 2009) as the last of her career, because shortly after the Warsaw tournament Clijsters announced on its website the immediate retirement from professional tennis known. " Now it's time for a new life ," she said, adding:

"It has been more than just beautiful. Now I hang my racquets on the nail. After the fantastic and moving farewell to the tournament in Antwerp, the thread is broken. The recurring violations, the tedious morning getting up and the tight muscles made ​​it only more difficult. In addition, there are the preparations for my wedding. All this has been reason not to keep going. "

Until then, Clijsters won 34 singles titles, including a Grand Slam tournament ( 2005 U.S. Open ) and 11 doubles titles. She was the first Belgian tennis player No. 1 on the WTA world rankings, the position she held between 2003 and 2006 a total of 19 weeks.

2009-2012: Comeback with two U.S. Open titles and the final withdrawal

After the birth of her daughter, Clijsters announced in March 2009 at a press conference in her tennis club in Bree her comeback to: "From the whole has to play with the invitation at Wimbledon against Steffi Graf. I thought that was a great honor. I trained hard to compete as fit as possible in Wimbledon can. And since I had started again to train harder, and the hunger came back. I am still too young to sit around at home. "

The first official tournament for which she received a wildcard after their return, was the WTA tournament in Cincinnati. With very good performance, they came there before the quarter-finals, where they defeated in two sets of the former world number one Dinara Safina. After the second round feeder in Toronto, where she lost to Jelena Janković, she also competed at the U.S. Open as a wild card. Here she crowned her comeback by after 2005 they won the tournament for the second time, where they could beat on the way to the finals both Venus and Serena Williams. In the final, she defeated Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3. She finished the year as number 17 in the world rankings. In 2010 she surpassed even their previous successes. She won the tournament in Miami (Final victory over Venus Williams), Cincinnati ( Sharapova ), Brisbane ( Henin ) and again the U.S. Open by a two- set victory over Russian Vera Swonarjowa against which she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. With the victory at the WTA Championships in Doha, they crowned this season.

In her first tournament in 2011 they came right in Sydney to the final and defeated there against the Chinese Li Na in straight sets. At the Australian Open, she reached the final against Li Na on again, this time she won in three sets. Clijsters thus secured their first title in Melbourne and her fourth at a Grand Slam tournament. With the quarter- final against Jelena Dokić in Paris, Clijsters continued again after 2003 and 2006 in February 2011 to the top of world rankings. At the French Open, she lost in round two surprising against the Dutch Arantxa Rus (No. 114 in the world), after she had not two match points can be used, with 6:3, 5:7, 1:6. Afterwards she expressed her cherished before the tournament doubt whether they would be maybe better not begun because of their wrist problems. After her early exit she took a long break and finally called off their participation in Wimbledon. By the end she denied any further tournament.

A renewed comeback they were then in January 2012 in Brisbane, as they pushed forward immediately to the semifinals. The same she also managed in Melbourne, where the new world number one Wiktoryja Azarenka proved to be the stronger one. In April Clijsters said from the entire clay court season to finally to cure her hip injury. At Wimbledon, she could not attend due to a foot injury. At their first Olympic participation they failed in London in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova. After the U.S. Open in August 2012, where she was eliminated in round two against Laura Robson Kim Clijsters ended her career permanently. Her last professional match they played in mixed doubles at the side of Bob Bryan, with whom she defeated in the second round against Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares in straight sets. On September 17, 2012, she was put in an individual standing at position 20 from the women's world rankings.

Records

  • On August 10, 2003, she was number 1 in the WTA world rankings, on 18 August it reached the fifth woman in the history of tennis at the same place 1 in singles and in doubles.
  • She was the first player, the world number one was without a Grand Slam title.
  • For all tournaments where she started, she reached at least the semi-finals (except the defeat in the second round in Toronto ); this was until then only managed Monica Seles.
  • As the first player after Steffi Graf, she managed to win the two consecutive Tier I tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
  • She won the tournament series on the hard courts before Flushing Meadows (U.S. Open Series ) and then the U.S. Open, which doubled their prize money. So she cashed 2.2 million U.S. $, which was also the highest prize money in the history of women's sport.
  • She won nine titles this year, which they reached number one in the annual ranking and No. 2 in the world rankings. More tournaments in a year previously had only Steffi Graf ( 1989: 14): ( 10 1991 1992) won, Martina Hingis (1997 12) and Monica Seles.
  • With their victory over Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Kim Clijsters returned to the top of world rankings. As the first tennis player she succeeded within a year of the jump from place 134 to the top.
  • In an exhibition match in Brussels, where she defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2, they played in front of 35,681 fans at the King Baudouin Stadium, which meant a new attendance record in tennis.

Awards

Clijsters was awarded with several prizes, among other things, as a player of the month in November 2002 and May, August and October / November 2003. She received three times ( 2000, 2003, 2005) the " Sportmanship Award", is five times the Sportswoman of the Year in Belgium and was appointed by the International Tennis Federation ITF World Champion 2005. On 21 March 2006 she was awarded the title in Miami " WTA player of the year 2005 " and for the " Comeback Player of the Year 2005 ". They also received four nominations for the Laureus World Sports Award, which is also regarded as " sports Oscar": 2006 in the categories of " World Sportswoman of the Year" and " Comeback of the Year " 2002 in the category " Newcomer of the Year ", and again in 2009 for the " comeback of the Year ".

Achievements

Singles

Doubles

Grand Slam and WTA Tour Championships results

(S: Victory, F: Final, RF: Semi-finals, VF: quarter-finals, AF: Eighth, 3R: Round 3 2R: Round 2, 1R: 1st round, RR: Round Robin )

Personal

Kim's father Leo Clijsters (1956-2009) was a Belgian football player. Her mother, Els Vandecaetsbeek, was Belgian champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

In 2003, Clijsters became engaged to her long-time friend, the Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, but the two parted in October 2004, shortly before the planned wedding. April 2006 she became engaged to the basketball player Brian Lynch, who played for the team of their Belgian hometown of Bree. On 13 July 2007, the two married. On 27 February 2008, the daughter was born. A few weeks later brought Kim's 43- year-old mother to a son, so Kim's daughter has a younger uncle. Your godmother is Elke Clijsters, Kim's sister, who was also a tennis player and as a junior was 2002 World Champion in doubles, but had to give up her career because of back problems. In September 2013, it became the mother of a boy.

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