Kim Clijsters eyes surprise comeback next year, Latest Tennis News - The New Paper
Tennis

Kim Clijsters eyes surprise comeback next year

Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters plans to come out of retirement after a seven-year hiatus, returning to the WTA Tour next year, the 36-year-old Belgian said yesterday.

The decision marks Clijsters' second return to the sport after first retiring in 2007.

"I don't really feel like I want to prove something," Clijsters said on the WTA Insider Podcast.

"For me, it's the challenge. The love for the sport is obviously still there."

Two years after winning her first Major at the 2005 US Open, an injury-plagued Clijsters decided to quit the game at the age of 23 to start a family, returning two years later to claim her second US Open as an unranked player.

Clijsters retained her title at Flushing Meadows the following year and then won the Australia Open in 2011.

With 41 titles to her name, Clijsters hung up her racket after the 2012 US Open. - REUTERS

Tennis