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| Birth Name(s) : Kim Clijsters |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Full Kim Clijsters Biography
Kim Clijsters (IPA: , listen (help·info); born June 8, 1983) is a retired Belgian tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 ranked player in singles and in doubles.
Clijsters, known as Aussie Kim, Kim Kong, Killing Kim, or Kim Possible to many fans, is recognized for her deep, powerful, well-placed groundstrokes, as well as her court-wide defense, characterized by speed and athleticism. Clijsters, along with Svetlana Kuznetsova, is among the few tennis players on either the ATP or WTA tours who can slide (known as the straddle) on all surfaces. After being defeated by Clijsters in the U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova said that Clijsters's strength lies in how she always forces her opponent to "hit that extra shot."
In November 2003, Clijsters announced her engagement to Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, but their relationship ended in October 2004. In October 2006, she announced her engagement to American basketball player Brian Lynch, who is based in Clijsters's hometown of Bree. In an interview with "Sportweekend," Clijsters said that she and Lynch will marry on July 14, 2007, and that she is retiring to start a family. However, Clijsters and Lynch secretly married Friday, July 13, 2007 at 6:00 in the morning at the Bree city hall. She was married by the mayor, with her sister, Elke Clijsters, Lynch's brother, Pat Lynch, and both families' parents. On July 10, 2007 it was confirmed that Kim is pregnant with her first child, a girl. The news was first brought into the world by father Lei (on his weblog) and then confirmed by her spokesperson. The expected birth date is January 2008.
Clijsters had her career-best season in 2003. She won nine singles tournaments and seven doubles titles that year, including the French Open and Wimbledon. She successfully defended her WTA Tour Championships title and reached two Grand Slam finals (French Open and U.S. Open), losing both to Henin-Hardenne. She reached the semis at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, showing incredible consistency. With the exception of her losses in the final, one memory that will be remembered is her loss to Serena Williams at the 03 Aussie Open semis. Serena had won her last 26 Grand Slam matches (as well as winning the last three Grand Slams), and after stunning her in straight sets at the Year-End Championships, she seemed well on her way for another upset victory as she lead 6-4, 3-6, 5-1. However, an incredibly resilient Williams fought off two match points, and ran off six straight games to secure a spot in the final, and ending up achieving the "Serena Slam".
Clijsters started 2004 by reaching her fourth career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, where she lost once more to Henin-Hardenne. She then won two consecutive titles in Paris and Antwerp. While defending her Tier I title at Indian Wells, however, Clijsters began to have problems with her wrist, eventually requiring surgery and forcing her to withdraw from most tournaments. She attempted a comeback towards the end of the season, winning several matches, before reaggravating the injury.
In February 2005, after almost a year of inactivity caused by injuries, she made her return to the WTA tour by participating in her home country tournament at Antwerp, losing to Venus Williams in a quarterfinal. She then completed her comeback to the top echelon of women's tennis when she won, as an unseeded entry, 14 straight matches to claim two Tier I titles (Indian Wells and Miami) in March. During that run, Clijsters defeated five of the world's top six players.
At the 2006 Australian Open, Clijsters defeated former champion Martina Hingis, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a quarterfinal, before retiring from a semifinal match with Amélie Mauresmo. Despite the loss, the ranking points she accumulated were enough to regain the world number one spot, a position she last held on November 9, 2003. She was the first tennis player, male or female, to rise from outside the Top 100 (No. 134) to No. 1 in less than year.
On August 16, after receiving a first round bye at the 2006 Rogers Cup in Montréal, Clijsters faced Canadian Stéphanie Dubois in the second round. Having won the first set 6-1 and trailing 2-3 in the second set, Clijsters slipped and fell on her left wrist and was forced to retire from the match. On August 18, 2006, Clijsters announced on her official website that the condition of her wrist was worse than she had expected and that she would be unable to compete in the 2006 U.S. Open to defend her title. She also missed the Fed Cup final against Italy, which Italy won 3-2.
At the year-ending WTA Tour Championships, Clijsters lost a semifinal to Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, after defeating Dementieva and Kuznetsova and losing to Sharapova in the round robin phase of the tournament. |
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