Kim Clijsters Reflects On ‘Rollercoaster’ Career

Written by: Staff on 1st September 2012

Kim Clijsters Reflects On 'Rollercoaster' Career |

Kim Clijsters heads into retirement after losing her second-round singles match to Laura Robson. Afterwards, Clijsters said she is happy she made the decision to come back despite her recent injuries, but is now looking forward to life at home.

“I think the first hour after the match there was still disappointment and a little bit of frustration,” she said. “But obviously now, I mean, after talking and kind of thinking about, you know, the retirement in singles, I’m happy. I’m happy that in the last year and a half or even two years, it’s been kind of up and down, and I’m happy that I stuck through it and I was able to kind of live a lot of these emotions that I’ve had in these 18 months or so.”

Clijsters looked back at her career achievements, which include four Grand Slam singles titles and being World No. 1.

“I think my first [WTA Tour] Championships that I won were very special,” she said. “Every victory has a special meaning because there’s like a personal story behind each one of them.

“First becoming No. 1, although I hadn’t won a Grand Slam, but it was still something that is so surreal.

“Winning my first Grand Slam. The funnest Grand Slam final that I played was the one against Li Na because we both played at a high level. We were really into it. It was physical. It was a very well-played match.”

There were also low moments like her four Grand Slam final losses, including three to compatriot Justine Henin. “The most frustrating ones were the Grand Slam finals against Justine where I didn’t play my best tennis,” she said.

Clijsters added that she plans to keep her connections with the sport. “Even in life without tennis, without tennis at a high level, I’ll always be involved in tennis. I’ll always try to give back to others what tennis has given me,” she said. “So I look forward to kind of that next chapter, as well, where I can help younger kids.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

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