As players make their final preparations ahead of the Dubai Tennis championships, there is one name that everybody in the draw is keeping an eye on.
Kim Clijsters is set to play her first WTA match in almost eight years on Monday at the age of 36. The four-time grand slam champion and former world No.1 is making a second comeback to the sport after announcing her intention to do last year. It had been planned that the Belgian would play in Australia last month, but a knee injury forced a change in her plans.
Receiving a wild card to play in Dubai, she joins a star-studded field. The eight seeded players in this year’s draw are all currently ranked in the world’s top 20. Some may wonder why Clijsters have decided to return to the tour given her successful career. Which includes no fewer than 41 WTA trophies.
“It was a feeling that I had inside for a little while,” She told reporters on Sunday.
“Once in a while, that feeling would go away when I was home with the kids. A couple times it would come back. [Then] it got stronger and stronger.
“I talked to my husband. He was like, ‘why not? Stop worrying about why and ask yourself why not’. He made a very good point. I was like, ‘Alright, yeah, why not? Why wouldn’t I do it?’”
Leading up to the tournament, Clijsters managed to get the opportunity to practice with one of the players who has inspired her the most in recent years – Simona Halep. A player who didn’t win her first piece of silverware on the tour until the year after Clijsters stepped away from the sport in 2012. The hitting session was organised by Halep’s coach Darren Cahill.
The Romanian said she was ‘nervous’ playing with the former US Open champion. A feeling also shared by Clijsters as she hailed the work ethic of the world No.2. Halep reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in what was her last tournament.
“I’ve been a big fan of her for a few years.” She said of Halep. “Obviously watching her win the French Open, seeing her win Wimbledon, was great for somebody who is such a hard worker.’
“Throughout your career you have a few players who you know you’ve had had great practice sessions with. In the past, there were girls like Schiavone, AI Sugiyama and Jennifer Capriati way back. Players who you were like, ‘Hey, do you want to practice a good two hours?’ You know you can work really hard, nothing gets in the way.’
“She is one of those girls too, where you can just practice hard and appreciate what the other person is doing across the net.”
Loved this from Kim Clijsters on what it was like to practice with @Simona_Halep today @DDFTennis.
Said there were a few players she particularly liked to practice with in the past like Schiavone, Sugiyama & Capriati, and that Halep fell under that same category of hardworkers. pic.twitter.com/bTQia8bGOX
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) February 16, 2020
Relishing her practice session with the reigning Wimbledon champion, the question remains how much of a threat can Clijsters pose at the age of 36? She is no stranger to making a comeback after first retiring from tennis in 2007 at the age of 23 before returning to the tour two years later.
Whilst hoping for a dream return in Dubai, the veteran player admits that she needs to once again learn to walk before she runs. Playing down the odds of her going deep in the tournaments straight away.
“I don’t think it really matters in my situation right now,” she stated. “I still feel like I have a lot of things that I want to focus on and start to get a feel for things again mentally, physically, emotionally, and how I’m going to feel when I’m out there.
“So, I think that is my main concern or goal: to get a hang of those kinds of situations without having to worry too much.”
Clijsters will take on Australian Open runner-up Garbine Muguruza in her opening match on Monday. Muguruza made her grand slam debut at the last tournament Clijsters played on the tour – the 2012 US Open.
