Clijsters to play farewell match against Venus Williams

Clijsters to play farewell match against Venus Williams

Kim Clijsters, who retired from tennis after the U.S. Open, will play a ceremonial farewell match on December 12th against Venus Williams.

Clijsters announced on her website that she will face her longtime rival in the Kim's Thank You Games at the Antwerp Sports Palace in front of 13000 fans.

Venus Williams: "This is a very special moment for me. I was in Antwerp already at the first edition of the Diamond Games in 2002. I'm always very happy to play here, the audience is incredible. It is an honour to be able to play against Kim in her last match. I am really looking forward to it and am very pleased with the invitation! "

For Bob Verbeeck, organizer of Kim's Thank You Games, Venus is the perfect adversary for Kim: "Over the years Venus has contributed largely to the success of the Diamond Games, through her tennis and her victories, but also through her personality. Venus joined the Diamond Games right from the start, at the start of Kim's breakthrough too. We could not have hoped for a more symbolic goodbye for Kim."

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Video: Kim retires from Tennis after losing at US Open | Press Conference

Video: Kim retires from Tennis after losing at US Open | Press Conference

Three-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters reflects on her career following her second round loss at the US Open.

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Kim Clijsters US Open Day 1 Interview | Monday, August 27, 2012

Kim Clijsters US Open Day 1 Interview | Monday, August 27, 2012

Q. What was it like walking back onto Arthur Ashe? Not that you were feeling scared, but it could be your last time.

KIM CLIJSTERS: I didn't really think about that. I was just excited to be out there and to have, you know, the opportunity to play in this kind of condition, prime time.
You know, a night match, it's always a very special occasion. The energy, when you step out on court also after the opening show, the stadium was almost full. So it was a lot of fun to go out there.
But, you know, still a bit nervous, too.

Q. Could you imagine as a 16 year old girl playing your first circuit match out opening night on Arthur Ashe against someone who has won four slams?

KIM CLIJSTERS: I can imagine, but it's been a very long time. I obviously wasn't in that position where I played my first ever match on tour on such a big stadium. I had moments when I was younger when I played Steffi at Wimbledon and she was my big idol.
So, yeah, it kind of takes you back through a lot of emotions and memories. I was talking to her before the match. It was nice in a way to kind of, yeah, get a feeling of the atmosphere from her side. I just told her, you know, that we've all been there and it's great to have these opportunities.
I think she trains in Florida at the USTA Tennis Center. I think it's great. I think she'll learn a lot from these kind of opportunities. I look forward to kind of keeping an eye on her in the future.

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Video: Kim Clijsters 2012 US Open Press Conferences | August 25th

Video: Kim Clijsters 2012 US Open Press Conferences | August 25th

Check out what Kim Clijsters said during her press conference before the start of the 2012 US Open... She will be playing her last tennis tournament in New York...

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Clijsters beats Ivanovic at Olympic Games

Clijsters beats Ivanovic at Olympic Games

Kim Clijsters scored a 63 64 win over Ana Ivanovic to advance to the Olympic Games quarterfinal where she will play against Maria Sharapova.

The Belgian, who is playing an Olympic event for the first time, needed just 58 minutes to seal the win.

Kim held easily in the opening game and forced Ana to save a break point in the following game.

Two games later Clijsters broke to take the lead. At 5-3 she found herself down 0-30 but recovered and sealed the set with an ace.

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Clijsters wears adidas at Olympics

Clijsters wears adidas at Olympics

Kim Clijsters always wears Fila at the WTA Tour but at the 2012 Olympic Games in London the former world number 1 is wearing an adidas outfit that I may add it looks very good on her... Too bad she is retiring after the US Open because I would love to see her wearing another brand other than Fila...

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Kim Clijsters Wimbledon Press Conference Wednesday 27 June 2012

Kim Clijsters Wimbledon Press Conference Wednesday 27 June 2012

K. CLIJSTERS/A. Hlavackova

6‑3, 6‑3

Q. Have you played under the Centre Court roof before?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Yes. First day.

In 2009 when we had the opening ceremony, that was the first and the last time.

Q. Everything going well?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah, I was very happy with the way everything went today. I felt it was another step upwards from my first match against Jankovic. You know, we had a long match before us, so I was really focused once I got out there and just really tried to be ready from the start.

I was able to just keep my level up throughout that whole match. I thought my opponent played, you know, a really tough game to read as well. She was serving well. So it was only a couple games here and there that made the difference.

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Photos: Clijsters vs Jankovic at Wimbledon 2012 Day 1

Photos: Clijsters vs Jankovic at Wimbledon 2012 Day 1

Check out some tennis pictures of Kim Clijsters during her first round women's singles victory over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic on the first day of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament at the All England Tennis Club ...

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Kim Clijsters Wimbledon Press Conference | Monday 25 June 2012

Kim Clijsters Wimbledon Press Conference | Monday 25 June 2012

K. CLIJSTERS/J. Jankovic

6‑2, 6‑4

Q. You, of course, have come from nowhere before when you came out of your retirement with little play and went on to win the US Open. Does a part of you think that you can come out of nowhere and take Wimbledon?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Well, I believe that if I'm healthy and I'm playing my best tennis I believe that I can beat a lot of the top players here, but it's a matter of trying to achieve that every match.

So, you know, I don't think that far ahead. But of course I try to feel good and play good tennis every time I step out on the court, and then I'll take it one match at a time.

Q. You seemed almost relieved after winning.

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Kim Clijsters withdraws from Unicef Open

Kim Clijsters withdraws from Unicef Open

Kim Clijsters pulled out from the Unicef Open semifinals, where she was going to play Urszula Radwanska, due to a stomach muscle strain .

The former world number 1 said she did not want to jeopardize playing in her last Wimbledon before retirement.

Clijsters' physiotherapist, Sam Versleghers, said the Belgian felt the injury a day earlier in her tough two-set quarterfinal win over Francesca Schiavone.

"This is a decision taken with my head, not my heart," Clijsters said in a statement. "But preventatively withdrawing from this tournament is the right decision. I am definitely going to play at Wimbledon."

Clijsters will play Jelena Jankovic in the opening round of the 2012 Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

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Pic of the Day: Kim wants a kiss from Fran

Pic of the Day: Kim wants a kiss from Fran

Today I´m starting the pic of the day section... I do not know if I will have time to make this kind of pics everyday day but I hope you enjoy the ones I will be posting....

I just want to add that is just to have a little bit of fun...

Today´s pic goes to Kim Clijsters and Francesca Schiavone after their match in 's-Hertogenbosch... Kim claimed the win to reach the semis...

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Clijsters into UNICEF Open semi-finals

Clijsters into UNICEF Open semi-finals

Kim Clijsters beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 7-6 and reached the semi-finals of the UNICEF Open.

Clijsters showed that she could be a genuine threat at this year's Wimbledon.

"It was a very intense match. Schiavone is a player who keeps fighting and has all sorts of different strokes. It is very important to stay focused," said Clijsters.

"I am very happy that I can play an additional match before I go to Wimbledon," she added.

Next for the Belgian will be Urszula Radwanska.

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Clijsters and Cibulkova into UNICEF Open quarters

Clijsters and Cibulkova into UNICEF Open quarters

Kim Clijsters crushed Kateryna Bondarenko 62 61 to advance to the UNICEF Open 2012 quarterfinals.

The Belgian produced a grass court masterclass and set up a meeting with Francesca Schiavone.

Bondarenko, who upset Sara Errani in the opening round, but she was no match for a rampant Clijsters.

"The match with Bondarenko was a lot better than my first match of the week," Clijsters said. "After the draw I knew that it was very important to get through the first round and then I would start to feel more confident on the grass."

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Clijsters makes winning return in s-Hertogenbosch

Clijsters makes winning return in s-Hertogenbosch

Kim Clijsters beat Romina Oprandi 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the UNICEF Open in s-Hertogenbosch.

Clijsters, who hadn't played since March because of a right hip injury, was beaten in the second round by Oprandi in 2011.

"It was very close today," said Clijsters. "Oprandi is a difficult player. Fortunately I continued to fight and I stayed focused. The second and third sets went better and better."

Kim will retire after the US Open in September, but will play Wimbledon and the Olympics before bringing the curtain down on her career.

"I enjoy every match that I can play -- it's going to be an important summer."

Photo by The Associated Press

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Video: Clijsters and Li Na tested Babolat Play & Connect racque

Video: Clijsters and Li Na tested Babolat Play & Connect racquet

Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kim Clijsters and Na Li tested Babolat Play & Connect the racquet of the future and the 2012 French Open...

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Clijsters to retire after US Open 2012

Clijsters to retire after US Open 2012

And Kim Clijsters has set her mind about retirement... The former world number 1 announced she will retire after the US Open in September.

Clijsters gave a press conference were she commented that her last tennis tournament as a professional player will be in New York where she won the women's singles title in 2005, 2009 and 2010.

"As it stands I will end my career at the US Open, That is where I enjoyed my greatest triumphs and it is a very special place for me," she said.

"The stadium is only about 45 minutes away from our house in the United States and my parents-in-law will be able to be present."

She retired for a first time in May, 2007 and gave birth to her daughter, Jada, before coming back in 2009.

The Belgian was not able to play much this season due to different injuries, she will miss the French Open but is targeting a return to action ahead of Wimbledon, before bidding to add Olympic gold to her collection in London this summer.

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Kim Clijsters out of Roland Garros 2012

Kim Clijsters out of Roland Garros 2012

Bad news for Kim and for tennis fans in Paris... Clijsters has pulled out of the 2012 French Open because she has not fully recovered from her hip injury.

The former world number 1 has been suffering from hip and ankle injuries and has not played since the semifinals of the Australian Open.

It´s very sad news as she marked Roland Garros as one of her main goals before retiring at the end of this season.

Kim will now focus on the grass-court season including Rosmalen, Wimbledon, and the Olympic Games.

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Kim Clijsters to miss 4 weeks with hip injury

Kim Clijsters to miss 4 weeks with hip injury

Kim Clijsters will be out of the WTA Tour for four weeks due to a torn hip muscle.

She’d been troubled with hip pains during the Sony Ericsson Open where she lost to Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets.

Tests show “a small torn muscle” in her right hip but the former world number hopes to be back for the Madrid Open, which starts May 5.

Clijsters has said she plans to retire after the summer, highlighting her year with an appearance at the London Olympics.

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Kim Clijsters Miami Interview - March 22nd 2012 Sony Ericsson Open

Kim Clijsters Miami Interview - March 22nd 2012 Sony Ericsson Open

K. CLIJSTERS/J. Goerges 6 2, 7 5

An interview with:

KIM CLIJSTERS

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. So you have obviously with your seed dropping down, being unseeded here, you can play tougher players out of the gates. Your second match in a few months. How is that tougher for you?
KIM CLIJSTERS: It is tough, especially in a way I was happy that I was able to play that first round, you know, that I don't quite have that bye off, like that first round off, so that gives me a little bit of rhythm a little bit of a lower ranked player where I can just get used to playing outdoors again, get used to the weather conditions.
You know, there was an improvement in my second round to my first round, and I had to. You know, Julia is a good player and I knew stepping out on court today that I'm gonna have to play a better type of tennis.

Q. You still think you have a long way to go from where you played today, that improvement to where you get to to contend for this title and make a deep run here?
KIM CLIJSTERS: You know, you always have to try to be better on the day than your opponent.

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Kim Clijsters Miami Interview - March 21st 2012 Sony Ericsson Open

Kim Clijsters Miami Interview - March 21st 2012 Sony Ericsson Open

K. CLIJSTERS/J. Gajdosova
4‑6, 6‑1, 6‑0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Looked like it took you a little time to get going out there. Last two sets didn't look like the first set.
KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah. I think what I said out on court, it's been a while since I played a match. The conditions, it's always, you know, tough to get‑‑ you know, you have to get that first match rhythm under your belt.
I have been practicing for a few days here now, you know, so those were my first kind of outdoor practices since a while. So you just have to get used to the conditions a little bit.
But, um, when it comes down to my game I just felt like I wasn't just quite going through my shots as well as I should have. I was, you know, trying to find that rhythm, but I think maybe on the other hand forgetting to still play aggressive tennis.
So, yeah, you know, as I started to feel more comfortable in the conditions and playing matches again, I felt like I was hitting through the ball better, and that showed in the second and third set.

Q. What are the challenges of playing? You haven't played a lot of tournaments at all the last 12 months almost. What are the challenges of playing such a partial schedule and having to get yourself into the tournament?

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