Thursday at Wimbledon marked the end of an era for Kirsten Flipkens and her 21-year career on the WTA Tour as a singles player.
Now ranked 190th in the world, the Belgian fell 7-5, 6-4, to former champion Simona Halep despite having the advantage in both sets. Flipkens boasted a 5-2 lead in the first and a 4-1 advantage in the second before losing both of those. The encounter was her 28th main draw match at Wimbledon and her last.
Heading into this year’s Grand Slam, she confirmed that it will be at Wimbledon where her career in singles would come to an end. At her best, she was ranked 13th in the world and won one Tour title at the 2012 Quebec Open. During her career, she has beaten a top 10 player on five occasions with the most recent of those being against Venus Williams at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“A lot of emotions are going through my body. For everything there is an end in life, and I’m about to start a new chapter. It’s a special feeling.” She said following her loss to Halep.
“I would have dreamed of a goodbye like today. I was really close to even taking a set from a champion like Simona.‘
“It’s not that I cannot play my best anymore with a champion like her or with other players. It’s just when you’re 36 years old, you have been through so much in your career, ups and downs. It was just a perfect way for me to end.”
Flipkens ends her career with 199 Tour wins with 47 of those being on a grass court. Her decision to stop comes after what was a turbulent 2021 season when she missed five months of tennis due to an ankle injury. The year prior to that she went 2-8 at Tour events.
After receiving a heartwarming farewell from fans at SW19, the 36-year-old says it is the spectators who she is going to miss the most. Although having spent her life as an athlete for over 20 years it is also going to be hard to lose her competitive mindset.
“The adrenaline, like going out on the court, being focused. There is much more that I would not miss any more than that I will miss, but I think definitely the interaction with the fans and the adrenaline going through your body with ups and downs.” She explains.
It was only fitting that Flipkens ended a chapter of her life at Wimbledon which is the venue of what she describes as her ‘biggest achievement’ as a player. Seeded 20th in 2013 she defeated Flavia Panetta and Petra Kvitova en route to the semi-finals. She was knocked out of the tournament by Marion Bartoli who went on to win the title.
“I got a couple more (achievements) I’m pretty proud of. Playing Fed Cup finals with Kim (Clijsters) and Justine (Henin) is a really nice memory. My WTA title in Quebec. I’ve got plenty of nice memories. But if there is one that I have to pick, of course it’s the quarterfinals against Petra at Wimbledon back in ’13.”
Flipkens will still be seen on the Tour as she intends to continue her doubles career. When asked how much longer for, she admits she is unsure. For certain, she plans to play up until the US Open before having another reflection on if she wants to continue playing. Encouragingly when speaking of the discipline she said ‘I’m enjoying myself from the first till the last ball.’
Whilst it is unclear how much longer Flipkens will continue playing, she sums up her career with a very brief but meaningful phrase.
“It’s been a hell of a ride.” She concludes.
