Former world number one Kim Clijsters has announced she is coming out of retirement again at the age of 36. Clijsters says she will return to the WTA Tour in 2020 after first retiring from tennis in 2007 before coming back to the sport in 2009.
The Belgian won two more US Open titles and the Australian Open before then announcing a second retirement in 2012. Speaking to the WTA Insider Podcast, she said: “I don’t really feel like I want to prove something. I think for me it’s the challenge.
“The love for the sport is obviously still there. But the question still is, am I capable of bringing it to a level where I would like it to be at and where I want it to be at before? I want to play at a high level of one of the best women’s sports in the world. “I want to challenge myself and I want to be strong again. This is my marathon.”
Cijsters, who has won 41 WTA titles overall in a distinguished career, added: “Let’s see if I can get my body in shape to play tennis at a level where I would like it to be at, that I have in mind of where I would like to get to, and see if it’s possible. To see, first of all, if my body is capable of even doing that.”
