Kim Clijsters believes she is going in the right direction in the build up to her debut at the Monterrey Open this week.
The four-time grand slam champion is set to play in only the second tournament of her comeback after Dubai, where she lost her opening match to Garbine Muguruza. Despite the defeat, the Belgian show glimmers of her top form in a boost to her bid to rise back to the top of the game. Prior to Dubai, she last played a competitive match at the 2012 US Open.
Clijsters’ next test will be against another potentially tricky opponent in the form of second seed Johanna Konta in Monterrey, where she has received a wild card. Although Konta, who dealt with a knee injury towards the end of last year, has endured a disappointing start to the season and is yet to win a match in 2020.
“I feel like with the tennis that I’ve been playing, I’m improving. I still have a good level in me. I’m still at the stage where I feel like I need match rhythm,” Clijsters told wtatennis.com.
“I’ve played one official match so far, and some practice sets. I would like to have more matches, and that’s the only way that I can practice certain things that you can only learn from matches.
“In practice, I’m moving better, I’m reacting better, I’m making better decisions. It has to happen in the match now. I think the more matches I get to play, the more that will improve a little bit, and we’ll see how far I can go.”
The 36-year-old is currently unranked on the WTA Tour. It is not the first time she has staged a return to the sport. She first retired back in 2007 at the age of 23 before returning two years later. So far in her career, she has won 41 WTA titles and spent a total of 20 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings.
Despite already having a well established career, the Belgian admits that she is still very much in the learning process. She is coached on the tour by Fred Hemmes Jr. A former top 200 player himself who has also previously worked with Ruben Bemelmans and the Belgian Tennis Federation.
“It’s a process. It’s a process of ups and downs, and I think that’s something you have to understand. It comes with failure, but I think it’s how you deal in the moments where it’s the toughest,” she said.
“That’s when you improve the most, when you learn the most about yourself and when you’re capable of improving. I think that was something I was always able to do well.
“When I lost in the past I was disappointed, but after a certain about of time, I was able to make that switch in my head and use it, and that’s how I was able to become better. I think it’s that kind of mindset. It’s important to not get discouraged about the losses, and use it to motivate you even more.”
This week will be the first time Clijsters have played a WTA tournament in Mexico in her entire career. After her run, she will then travel to America for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells where she has also received a wild card to play.
