Four-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters has announced that she will be coming out of retirement to play professional tennis again at the age of 36.
Clijsters posted a video on twitter announcing her return from retirement. In the video, she said: "For the past seven years, I've been a full-time mom. And I love it. I really, really do. But I also loved being a professional tennis player. And honestly, I miss that feeling. So... what if I tried to do both?"
Her last competitive match was at the 2012 US Open when she was 29 years old. Following her retirement, Clijsters was inducted as a member of the 2017 class of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
This will actually be Clijsters' second return from retirement. Her first was when retired in May 2007 after marrying Brian Lynch and giving birth to her daughter Jada in 2008. She came back to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in 2009 consequently won three of her four major titles, namely the 2009 and 2010 US Open and the 2011 Australian Open.
The 2009 US Open win made her the third WTA player to win a major after giving birth, following Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong. She eventually captured the No. 1 rank on February 14, 2011.
Clijsters said: "While there is a lot of work ahead of me in the next four months, my biggest motivation is the personal challenge involved -- both physically and mentally, I want to test myself again. At 36 years old I feel like I'm too young to be retired and, with so many inspirational athletes and moms competing, I can't wait to get back on the match court and see what's possible after having three children."
WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon said: "Kim Clijsters ranks among the greats of the game and her return to the Tour is exciting news for the WTA family and tennis fans around the world."
