Kim Clijsters: Biography, Sports Achievements

Kim Clijsters - tennis player, who for more than 10 years retained the status of the first racket of the world. The athlete was repeatedly awarded the title of champion in doubles and singles.

early years

Born Kim Clijsters June 8, 1983 in the Belgian town of Bilsen. The parents of the future star were athletes. The father of the growing tennis player was a professional football player, and my mother worked on gymnastics for a long time, repeatedly winning gold awards in this discipline. Therefore, the girl's life was predetermined in advance.

For the first time on the tennis court, Kim Clijsters came out at the age of six. Already at 11 years old the girl received the status of the first racket of the country among juniors. A few years later the athlete was invited to study at the tennis academy in Antwerp. Here, school subjects alternated for a girl with regular training on a tennis court.

The first serious success for the young athlete came in 1999, when she won the league title at a prestigious tournament in Luxembourg. The year 2003 was a triumphal one for Kim Clijsters. The Grand Slam Championship, which was held this season, on the first attempt submitted to the athlete. Thus, the young tennis player won her first career title, and soon became the first racket of the world.

Forced recession in a career

The early 2000s were not so successful for Kim Clijsters. Sportswoman now and then turned out to be a step away from winning at numerous tournaments, but for a variety of reasons she always gave titles to opponents. However, the loss of form did not prevent Kim from winning the Federation Cup in cooperation with Justine Henin at the 2001 tournament. In the final match of the competition, the pair defeated rivals from the Russian team.

In 2003, Clijsters gave way to the same, well-known for joint performances, Justine Henin in the final match of the tournament Roland Garros. However, at the end of the season, the Belgian tennis player retained the title of the first racket of the world, thanks to the points scored in the through bouts. And this despite the lack of victories in the finals of the series of Grand Slam tournaments.

Since 2004, the athlete has shown not so impressive tennis. Kim Clijsters suffered from a number of unpleasant injuries. Relapses of damage made the champion regularly withdraw from major competitions. Thus, at the end of the season, the former first racket of the world was outside the first hundred in the ranking of the best tennis players in the world.

Return to the big sport

In 2005, Kim Clijsters fully recovered after numerous recurrences of old injuries. In the same season, the sportswoman won the Grand Slam tournament in Miami. Then the tennis player won the US Open. Thus, Kim Clijsters told the public about her return and her intention to restore the status of the first racket of the world.

Successful performances continued for the athlete until 2007. At the beginning of the season, Kim began to worry about health problems again. So soon the tennis player decided to leave the sport for a while, devoting time to her family. In 2008, Claysters gave birth to a daughter, whose father was American basketball player Brian Lynch.

Already in the 2009/2010 season, the Belgian champion once again joined the fight for the title of the best tennis player in the world. According to the results of a one-year performance, Kim contributed to her own treasury of achievements the title of champion of the United States Open Championship.

Another success Clijsters expected at the Australian Open in the season 2010/2011. During the competition, the tennis player went on the grid of the Russian star Maria Sharapova. Later, Kim beat Vera Zvonareva and became the winner of the tournament.

After the triumphant performances at the championships in the US and Australia, until 2012, the Belgian sportswoman had no significant victories. Therefore, soon decided to declare the final completion of his professional career.

Finally

To this day, Kim Clijsters retains the status of a unique tennis player, who managed to achieve the highest achievements in sports at an early age. During the performances at the Grand Slam tournaments, she earned a record $ 23 million in prize money. Today, the Belgian sportswoman takes first place in the list of the most successful tennis players in history.