Clijsters speaks out about poor air quality in Melbourne

Former World nr. 1. Clijsters spoke about the ongoing issue of poor air quality in Melbourne due to the Australian Bushfires

Kim Clijsters, a former Australian Open champion was recently asked at her academy in Bree what she thought about the air quality issue. She said: "If it's not possible to play in then what's the point? If you can't play and bring good tennis and be fit enough to play two hours, or even the guys 4-5 hours in this environment."

She continued: "If I would have been there I think I would have been very vocal and at least talk to the board and the tournament directors to try to think about solutions. It's a tough situation to be in. It's something that's out of anyone's control."

The centrepiece of her message has been a clear cut players are more important than the event itself. She told the reporters that it's essential that players stay healthy and that she was extremely happy to see the tennis community come together: "Everybody cares about it, they all love the Australian Open, we just have to make sure that the people stay safe and healthy."

Clijsters is currently preparing for her comeback to professional tennis which is scheduled for March. When asked about that Kim said: "Whenever I went to a couple of tournaments, even if I was doing commentating or if I was playing some legends, at the back of my mind at times I still felt I could still be a player - I'm not saying win Grand Slams, but be a player and not be among the legends or not doing commentary - still being competitive."

It's always good news when legends come back to play and we hope Clijsters will not only have success but also a long spell on the Tour.

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