The star player was back on court two decades after her first Grand Slam final and ten years after the last major singles championship she won.
Clijsters is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and a former no.1 player. She is making her comeback to the WTA Tour at the upcoming Chicago Fall Tennis Classic.
They sent the Belgian veteran with a wildcard invitation. Her acceptance means she will be facing Hsieh Su-Wei in the tournaments first round.
When asked about her return, Clijsters shared how her friends back home would say wanting to run a marathon before they turn 40, or something like that. She said that her comeback to the court is kind of her marathon.
Clijsters is now a mother of three, living with her children at their home in New Jersey, where she wakes up at 5 a.m. to train. Her last competition was at the 2020 U.S. Open, where she lost the first round around one year ago.
She made a comeback last year, but it was interrupted by knee surgery in October and then getting COVID-19 in January this year. These matches were her first ones since 2012. She first retired in 2007 but came back in 2009.
In 2001, she reached the final of the French Open, which is one of the 0-4 marks in the Grand Slam title matches. This was before her victory at the 2005 U.S. Open, followed by U.S. Open titles in 2009 and 2019. She also earned an Australian Open title in 2011.