Tennis Legends - Kim Clijsters: The trailblazer who put Belgian tennis on the map in Grand Slam wins pre and post pregnancy

Kim Clijsters, backed up by Justine Henin, placed Belgian tennis on the map in the 2000s by becoming the country’s first Grand Slam singles champions. Clijsters won four singles majors, three of which came after returning to tennis following maternity leave.

Clijsters was born in the small Belgian town of Bilzen. She is the daughter of Lei Clijsters and Els Vandecaetsbeek, both accomplished athletes. Her father, Lei, was a professional footballer who earned 40 caps for Belgium and played in two World Cups. Her mother, Els, was a national gymnastics champion. She also has a sister, Elke, who briefly played on the WTA Tour before retiring at the age of 19.

When Kim was five, her father built a clay court in their garden to celebrate winning Player of the Season. Aged seven, she joined a club in Genk. Her first coach, Bart Van Kerckhoven, noted that Clijsters’ work ethic set her apart from her peers, a trait that would prove a key component of her success at the highest level.

Clijsters enjoyed a wealth of success through the junior ranks. Highlights included singles and doubles triumphs (alongside future rival Henin) in the under-14 category at the European Junior Championships. She then progressed to the ITF junior circuit, winning Grand Slam junior doubles titles at the 1998 French Open with Jelena Dokic and the US Open alongside Eva Dyrberg. In junior singles, she was beaten by Katarina Srebotnik in the 1998 Wimbledon final.

The 1999 season saw Clijsters compete regularly on the WTA Tour. In September, she captured her maiden title at the Luxembourg Open. The Bilzen native secured two further titles in 2000, winning the Hobart International and the Sparkassen Cup.

It was during the 2001 season that Clijsters truly broke into the upper echelons of women’s tennis. Three additional titles were added to her résumé, but it was runner-up finishes at Indian Wells and the French Open that elevated her standing. The Roland Garros final was a classic, with Clijsters losing 12–10 in the deciding set to Jennifer Capriati. She finished the season inside the world’s top ten for the first time.

Four titles followed in 2002. The highlight was her biggest win to date, defeating Serena Williams — who was en route to completing her first “Serena Slam” — in the final of the WTA Tour Championships. The Grand Slams proved frustrating, however, with a semi-final run at the Australian Open her only appearance beyond the fourth round at a major that year.

The 2003 season became Clijsters’ joint most prolific, as she amassed nine titles. This included retaining her WTA Tour Championships crown and winning what are now WTA 1000 events at Indian Wells and Rome. She finished with seven wins from ten finals at this level. The Belgian lost two Grand Slam finals to compatriot Justine Henin, falling in straight sets at both the French Open and US Open. She reached at least the semi-finals in 20 of her 22 events and recorded 90 match wins — the most by a player since Martina Navratilova in 1982. It was also the season in which Clijsters first reached world number one.

Early in 2004, Clijsters suffered an ankle injury at the Hopman Cup. She still competed at the Australian Open, reaching another final against Henin. Although closer than their previous major encounters, Clijsters again finished runner-up, losing her fourth consecutive Grand Slam final and reinforcing a reputation as a bridesmaid on the sport’s biggest stages. Two titles in February were her only victories in a season blighted by injury, which saw her ranking fall outside the top 20.

The 2005 season marked a magnificent comeback for the ever-popular Clijsters. She claimed nine titles and finally shed her “nearly woman” label by capturing her first Grand Slam singles crown. At the US Open, she defeated Mary Pierce 6–3, 6–1 in the final. Other highlights included her first grass-court title at Eastbourne, completing the “Sunshine Double” at Indian Wells and Miami, and adding another WTA 1000 trophy at the Canadian Open. She won all her finals that year and was named WTA Player of the Year.

Clijsters returned to the top of the rankings after the 2006 Australian Open despite retiring injured in the semi-finals. Lindsay Davenport’s quarter-final loss was enough to restore Clijsters to number one. Henin continued to dominate their rivalry, defeating Clijsters in the semi-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Three titles were won that season, though none came at the sport’s biggest events.

She played the Australian swing at the start of 2007, but her schedule was repeatedly disrupted by injury. Following a loss at the Warsaw Open in May, Clijsters announced her immediate retirement at just 23 years of age.

During her time away from the sport, Clijsters married American basketball player Brian Lynch. She gave birth to her first child, Jada, in early 2008, just two months after her father, Lei, was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in January 2009. Reflecting on that emotional period, Clijsters said: “The birth of Jada was the best moment of my life, but it also taught me a lesson because we knew that my dad was terminally ill. I realised that new life had been born, but a few months later another life would disappear. It was a very intense period in our lives.”

Clijsters announced her comeback in 2009, relying on wildcards as she no longer held a ranking. At her return event in Cincinnati, she defeated three top-20 players. She then accepted a wildcard into the US Open, having played just two tournaments since returning. In a fairytale outcome, Clijsters claimed her second US Open title with a straight-sets victory over Caroline Wozniacki. She became the tournament’s first unseeded female champion and the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.

Competing on a reduced schedule to balance motherhood, Clijsters maximised her appearances in 2010 by winning five titles. These included successfully defending her US Open crown and capturing a third WTA Tour Championships title. She was again named WTA Player of the Year and finished the season ranked number three.

Clijsters entered the 2011 Australian Open as one of the favourites, having reached the final of the Sydney International. She advanced to the Melbourne final and faced China’s Li Na. After losing the opening set, Clijsters rallied to claim victory in three sets, securing her first Grand Slam singles title outside New York. This fourth major proved to be the 41st and final tournament win of her career, achieved from 60 finals.

Following a truncated 2011 campaign, Clijsters had already confirmed that 2012 would be her final season, citing a desire to be at home as her daughter began school. A semi-final run in defence of her Australian Open title was followed by a brief return to world number one. Her final tournament came at the US Open, where she lost in the second round to Laura Robson.

In the first phase of her career, Clijsters combined singles and doubles with great success. She reached world number one in doubles and partnered Japan’s Ai Sugiyama to win Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2003, having also finished runners-up at Wimbledon in 2001. Clijsters won 11 doubles titles overall and opted not to resume doubles upon her 2009 return.

Representing her country, Clijsters played a key role in Belgium’s sole Fed Cup or Davis Cup triumph, securing Fed Cup glory in 2001. She competed in just one Olympic Games — London 2012 — having missed the previous three for various reasons.

Early in her career, Clijsters was romantically involved with Australian star Lleyton Hewitt. The pair reached the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon in 2000 and later became engaged before splitting in 2004. Australian fans dubbed her “Aussie Kim”, a nickname that endured even after their separation.

Clijsters was immensely popular throughout her career and won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award on eight occasions.

After retiring for a second time, Clijsters had two more children: Jack, born in 2013, and Blake, born three years later. In 2020, Clijsters made a brief return to professional tennis but, partly due to the impact of COVID-19, played only a handful of matches, including a first-round loss at the US Open. She contested just five matches in total before finally ending her playing career in 2022.

Clijsters was named Belgian Sportswoman of the Year on eight occasions and received the Belgian Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2003. Other honours included the 2010 Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year, while in 2017 she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

A former WTA Humanitarian of the Year, Clijsters has been involved in numerous charitable initiatives. She has served as an ambassador for SOS Children’s Villages since 2010 and founded Ten4Kim to support junior players unable to afford high-level training.

Clijsters has also worked intermittently in tennis media in recent years, appearing on outlets such as the BBC and Australia’s Channel 7. The legacy of Kim Clijsters rests largely on her four hard-court Grand Slam singles titles. She enjoyed several highly prolific seasons, further underscoring her greatness. Her 41 singles titles rank her 14th in the Open Era, and she remains one of only six players in WTA history to have held the world number one ranking in both singles and doubles simultaneously.