Kim Clijsters opens up about unwavering support from husband Brian Lynch when she decided to come back after childbirth

Kim Clijsters' return to the WTA tour after childbirth will go down as one of the most iconic stories in tennis history. The Belgian tennis great recently revealed how the support from her husband Brian Lynch, a former pro basketball player and currently a coach in America, played an extremely crucial role in her epic comeback.

By winning the 2009 US Open less than a year after returning to the pro tour post-childbirth, Clijsters became the first mom to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley back in 1980. She defended her US Open title the following year, before winning the Australian Open a few months after that, and enjoyed an extended run as World No. 1 again.

Many from the tennis world still vividly remember Clijsters celebrating her 2009 US Open title on the court with her two-year-old daughter Jada and husband Brian. Clijsters, who recently appeared on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast, expressed how important it was for her to have her husband take care of their daughter and other aspects while she focused on her comeback.

"After I had my daughter, Jada, our first child, to be able to travel, and have my husband Brian be on the sidelines, because he was still playing basketball at the time, " Kim Clijsters said. "That hunger within me started to come back, of saying, 'I maybe want to play some more tournaments' after I had her."

Brian Lynch was nearing retirement from basketball at the time, but Kim Clijsters believes he still had a year or two left in him. When she told him about her desire to make a comeback though, Lynch decided to retire and fully commit to her comeback and taking care of the family.

The couple, who have now settled in the US, resided in Belgium at the time; they traveled all around the world for tennis tournaments with little Jada by their side. The three-time US Open singles champion also reflected on the "incredible" journey during the podcast.

"He was getting closer to the end of his career but he probably could've squeezed one or two more years out of it. But he still was like, 'Okay, if this is what you'd like to do, I would love to take this adventure with you.' He said, 'Let's fully commit'," Clijsters explained.

"It's been incredible. We now live in the States but we were living in Belgium at the time and traveled the world with our daughter and absolutely loved it. Those were a fun few years there," the 39-year-old added.

"It seems so surreal" - When Kim Clijsters couldn't believe how she won the 2009 US Open

Kim Clijsters and her daughter Jada celebrate with the 2009 US Open trophy.

The 2009 US Open was only Kim Clijsters' third tournament since returning to the tour after the birth of her daughter Jada. After the tournament, the Belgian superstar opened up about her incredible achievement of winning the title and creating history, admitting that the experience was "surreal".

Clijsters had entered the tournament with the intention of getting some Slam matches under her belt ahead of the start of the following season, and so was pleasantly shocked to have gone all the way.

"I'm still, whenever I see my group, every time I say, like, I can't believe this happened," Kim Clijsters said in a press conference at the 2009 US Open. "Because it still seems so surreal that, yeah, in my third tournament back won my second Grand Slam. Because it wasn't in the plan, kind of. I just wanted to come here and get a feel for it all over again."

Playing the tournament after accepting a wildcard, Kim Clijsters beat Serena Williams in the semifinals and Caroline Wozniacki in the final.