One of six women in tennis history to simultaneously top the world rankings in singles and doubles, Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, was the world No. 1 player for 19 weeks and was ranked within the world top-5 for 250 weeks during her career. Bolstered by a powerful baseline game and remarkable defensive skills on court, Clijsters won four Grand Slam tournament singles titles. She is a three-time US Open champion (2005, 2009, 2010) and she was also the 2011 Australian Open champion. Clijsters won two major doubles titles, capturing both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003.
Clijsters is a three-time champion at the WTA Tour Championships. She won 41 singles titles in all, including 7 WTA Tour Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 titles. She was a dedicated Belgian Fed Cup team member, leading the team to their first Fed Cup title in 2001 and into the finals again in 2006.
Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007, and then embarked on a second career in tennis with a comeback in 2009. That year, she went on to win the US Open, in what was just her third tournament back on the tour. She was unranked, unseeded, and a wild card entry to the event. Two years later, in 2011, she once again reached the world No. 1 ranking, five years after she had last been there.
Since retirement, Clijsters, now a mother of three, has been focused on her family. She remains engaged in tennis through Kim Clijsters Academy in Belgium, where many juniors train and through competing in Legends events at the Grand Slams.
