Kim Clijsters set to come out of retirement yet again, will play in 2020

Former World No.1 tennis star Kim Clijsters has announced her return to action and will be seen on the court during the 2020 season, Having retired from tennis for the second time in 2012, the 36-year-old will soon be seen on the court in professional tournaments.

Inspired by fellow tennis players such as Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, who have continued to play even after childbirth, the mother of three has decided to pick the racquet professionally again in the next year.

According to WTA rules, as she has been a Grand Slam champion in the past, she can receive unlimited wild card invitations to the tournaments. Her plans for her comeback in 2020 is not to win, but to challenge herself again in front of the new young tennis players which she mentioned in an interview with the WTA Insider Podcast as she said, "I don't really feel like I want to prove something, I think for me it's the challenge”.

Shortly after her second retirement in 2012, Clijsters began working as a commentator, while focusing on her academy as well. She first retired at the age of 23 in 2007, before she was back at playing professional tennis in 2009. Her comeback proved to be quite successful as she won the US Open singles titles in 2009 and 2010 by defeating the top-notch players like the Williams sisters and Li Na. After her glorious win, she also clinched the Australian Open singles title in 2011.

The 36-year-old was without a doubt, one of the best women athletes in the sport prior to her retirement. She won the WTA Tour finals for two consecutive years, in 2002 and 2003, while her third title came in the year 2010. After Clijsters earned a victory from the 2005 US Open, she made a name for her defensive style of play and the ability to play long rallies with the opponent. Her ‘squash shot’ was her signature move on the court, where she would go into a half split in order to make up for the distance to hit a return.

However, her return might be more challenging than expected since the WTA competition has become much more competitive than before. The next generation of tennis stars is filled with young and agile players such as World No.4 Naomi Osaka, who won 2018 US Open championship against Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka, the 21-year-old tennis player who qualified for WTA Elite trophy and reached the 11th rank in the WTA rankings. Aryna’s booming serves and forehand returns are characteristic of her aggressive style of play, which could be tough to deal with for the returning star.

Regardless of the changes that have occurred in the game from time to time, Clijsters has always had a successful comeback, despite all the challenges her return on to the court will be much anticipated by tennis fans all over the world. As of now, one can only hope that she re-creates her magical win from the 2011 Australian Open in her first competitive game on her return.