Kim Clijsters officially retired earlier this year after making a comeback attempt in 2020 and now she's back in tennis but in a different role.
Clijsters has had an amazing tennis career and was inducted into the tennis hall of fame in 2017. She made a comeback attempt in 2020 but it wasn't very successful prompting her to retire for good earlier this year. Now she'll become the honorary president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame replacing Stan Smith.
The news was announced on Thursday and it was accompanied by a statement from Clijsters where she expressed excitement about this new opportunity to serve the sport she loves:
“I am thrilled and humbled by this new opportunity to serve the sport. The International Tennis Hall of Fame does important, inspiring work through preservation efforts, impactful content, and celebrations. I am always eager to find a new way to be actively involved in tennis. I look forward to helping the organization continue to grow and thrive, and to connecting tennis fans around the world with our sport’s incredible history.”
According to a press release her role was defined as 'Clijsters will represent the organization in an ambassadorial role publicly and will also collaborate with ITHF staff and tennis industry partners on initiatives that support the ITHF’s mission of preserving and celebrating tennis history. This will include a focus on connecting current players with tennis history and with the ITHF.'
Thank you. Excited for this new challenge . Looking forward to working with the team . ❤️
The ITHF is delighted to announce @Clijsterskim as the organization's Honorary President. The Hall of Famer, former world No. 1 and 6-time major champion is the first woman and European to take on this role. 👏 Welcome, Kim! 🔗: tennisfame.com/news/2022/Kim-…
