For me the most important goal is the competition: wanting to win each match.
I really live from match to match. A great sports cliché, but it's the truth.
Women's tennis player Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters was born on June 8, 1983 in Bilzen, Belgium to champion Belgian football player Leo (Lei) Clijsters and artistic gymnist Els Vandecaetsbeek. The 1.74 m (5'8 1/2") 68 kg (150 lbs.) athlete started tennis at age 6 at Tennisdel in Genk. Bart Van Kerckhovan coached her from 1992 until 1996 and in 1994 Kim won the Belgian Junior National Championship at age 11.
The Early Years
In 1996, Kim joins the
Flemish Tennis Federation and practices at the elite tennis training center located in
Wilrijk, Antwerp. She meets coach
Carl Maes who accompanies her on practice and tournaments. Carl remains her coach from 1992 until June 2002 (French Open was their last tournament together). In 1998, Kim participated in junior grand slams in which she won the Junior Girls doubles crowns at the
French Open (with
Jelena Dokic) and
US Open (with
Eva Dyberg). She became the youngest national A champion ever at age 15. Kim continued on to play four
ITF circuit events (winning two, ITF/Brussels and ITF/Koksijde) and receives her first
WTA ranking of 409.
Professional Debut
In 1999, Kim goes professional and debuts in the
WTA tour yet loses to first seed
Sarah Pitkowski of
France in the
quarterfinals. At
Wimbledon, she defeats #10
Amanda Coetzer in the third round before losing to
Steffi Graf. The
US Open had her reaching the third round but she lost to
Serena Williams who eventually won the championship. She won her first career title in
Luxembourg by beating
Dominque Van Roost and
Sabine Appelmans. Her first WTA doubles title also occurred in the same year. She had advanced by 362 positions by the end of the year earning her #47 on the top 50. The WTA awarded Kim the 'most promising newcomer' for 1999.
Solid Performance
2000 saw Kim take her second career title in
Hobart by defeating
Chanda Rubin in the final.
Dominique Van Roost exacted revenge by defeating Clijsters in the first round of the
Australian Open. Kim wins another title in
Leipzig beating
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario and
Anna Kournikova. She reached the fourth round at
Miami and
Indian Wells as well as leading
Belgium into the
Fed Cup semi finals yet was defeated by
Lindsay Davenport. Wimbledon saw Kim win her first grand slam mixed doubles final with partner and boyfriend
Lleyton Hewitt. She reached the final of
Filderstadt which concluded the year 2000 which had Clijsters win two titles and receive the number 18 spot on the WTA ranking. She was awarded the WTA
Karen Krantzke Sportsmanship Award.
Clijsters secured her role as a household Belgian name by securing 3 titles at
Stanford,
Leipzig and
Luxembourg. She made final appearances in
's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands and the
French Open where she passed the 1 million dollar career prize mark. She reached her first tier 1 final in
Indian Wells, upsetting
Martina Hingis in the semifinals. At the
US Open and
Wimbledon she reached the quarterfinals and a runner-up performance in Ladies Doubles with
Ai Sugiyama. Clijsters moves into the top with at #7 and aids Belgium in securing its first
Fed Cup title by defeating
Russia in the final. Kim finished 2001 with a career high rank of #5.
In 2002, Kim began by reaching the semi-finals in
Sydney and the
Australian Open. She developed a debilitating shoulder injury which affected her performance. Clijsters cut down on her playing time yet was able to win the
Betty Barclay Cup in
Hamburg for her first victory over
Venus Williams. She then proceeded to lose at the semifinals in
Rome and finish 2nd at
Stanford. Her injury may have affected her more greatly at
Wimbledon and the
French Open where she was eliminated in early rounds. A mutual agreement resulted in coach
Carl Maes leaving his pupil who he had coached for 10 years. Kim met coach
Marc DeHous who helped her to the round of 16 singles and quarterfinals in doubles. She reached the final in
Tokyo, semifinals in
Leipzig and won at
Filderstadt. Next came a quarterfinals position in
Zurich and a title at
Luxembourg. She reached the
Season Ending Championships in
Los Angeles and stunned the crowd by defeating
Serena Williams and winning the title. Her ranking jumped to #4 and for the second time in her life was awarded the
WTA's Sportsmanship award.
Unstoppable
2003 saw Kim win titles in
Sydney and
Indian Wells as well as 2nd place in
Antwerp and
Scottsdale. She proceeded to make it to the semifinals at the
Australian Open and a final at
Miami. Her doubles court partner
Ai Sugiyama helped her win three titles in
Sydney,
Antwerp and
Scottsdale and reached the final in
Indian Wells. Kim exploded on the scene and won events in
Rome,
Rosmalen,
Stanford,
Los Angeles,
Filderstadt,
Luxembourg and the
Season Ending Championships in
Los Angeles. She made two grand slam finals at the
US Open and the
French Open, runner up at
San Diego and
Berlin, and semifinals at
Wimbledon. 2003 also saw Kim win her first two doubles grand slams with
Ai Sugiyama on top of a tour leading 9 singles titles.
Lleyton
Kim met men's tennis player
Lleyton Hewitt at the
2000 Australian Open and she visits him in his native
Australia. Lleyton
proposed to Clijsters during a
Sydney harbor
cruise a few days before
Christmas 2003. Kim reacted by writing in her online diary: "Lleyton had a surprise for me! He took me out for a dinner and produced all of a sudden a ring and earrings! I was so happy I didn't know how to react."
Clijsters has seperated from Lleyton Hewitt in 2004. Lleyton is planning to marry
Bec Cartwright.
Statistics
As of
January 18, 2004, Kim Clijsters is ranked #2 in the
WTA ranking at 6373 points. Her career prize money at the end of 2002 was $3,649,280.
Grand Slam (Singles) History:
W-L 03 02 01 00 99
Australian Open 13-4 SF SF 4r 1r -
Roland Garros 14-4 F 3r F 1r -
Wimbledon 14-5 SF 2r QF 2r 4r
US Open 16-5 F 4r QF 2r 3r
Masters History:
W-L 03 02 01 00 99
Singles 12-2 W W SF QF -
Doubles 1-1 F - - - -
Titles: 19
10/11/2003:
Tour Championships
26/10/2003:
Luxembourg
12/10/2003:
Filderstadt
10/08/2003:
Los Angeles
27/07/2003:
Stanford
21/06/2003:
Rosmalen
18/05/2003:
Rome
16/03/2003:
Indian Wells
11/01/2003:
Sydney
11/11/2002:
Tour Championships
27/10/2002:
Luxembourg
13/10/2002:
Filderstadt
05/05/2002:
Hamburg
28/10/2001:
Luxembourg
30/09/2001:
Leipzig
29/07/2001:
Stanford
05/11/2000:
Leipzig
15/01/2000:
Hobart
26/09/1999:
Luxembourg
Finals: 13
07/09/2003:
US Open
03/08/2003:
San Diego
07/06/2003:
Roland Garros
16/05/2003:
Berlin
02/03/2003:
Scottsdale
16/02/2003:
Antwerp
22/09/2002:
Tokyo
28/07/2002:
Stanford
23/06/2001:
Rosmalen
10/06/2001:
Roland Garros
17/03/2001:
Indian Wells
08/10/2000:
Filderstadt
24/10/1999:
Bratislava
Victories in Doubles: 11
19/10/2003:
Zürich (Sugiyama)
03/08/2003:
San Diego (Sugiyama)
06/07/2003:
Wimbledon (Sugiyama)
08/06/2003:
Roland Garros (Sugiyama)
02/03/2003:
Scottsdale (Sugiyama)
16/02/2003:
Antwerp (Sugiyama)
11/01/2003:
Sydney (Sugiyama)
27/10/2002:
Luxembourg (Husarova)
11/08/2002:
Los Angeles (Dokic)
21/05/2000:
Antwerp (Appelmans)
24/10/1999:
Bratislava (Courtois)
Finals in Doubles: 9
10/11/2003:
Tour Championships (Sugiyama)
11/05/2003:
Berlin (Sugiyama)
16/03/2003:
Indian Wells (Sugiyama)
23/09/2001:
Tokyo (Sugiyama)
08/07/2001:
Wimbledon (Sugiyama)
23/06/2001:
's Hertogenbosch (Oremans)
04/03/2001:
Scottsdale (Shaughnessy)
05/11/2000:
Leipzig (Courtois)
15/01/2000:
Hobart (Molik)
Victories in
Fed Cup: 1
11/11/2001 in final round in
Madrid.
Belgium beats
Germany,
Australia,
Spain and
Russia.
Team: Kim Clijsters,
Justine Henin-Hardenne,
Els Callens,
Laurence Courtois.
Captain:
Ivo Van Aken.
Other Facts:
Kim plays
right-handed (two-handed backhand) using a
Babolat Pure Drive racquet.
Her tennis
idol is
Steffi Graf.
Kim's favourite food is
japanese and her favourite
shopping city is
New York.
She owns a pet dog named Beauty.
Enjoys listening to
Live,
Savage Garden and
Madonna.
Her favourite movie is
The Hurricane and
Gladiator.
Confesses she has a 'weakness' for bags.
Appeared on Belgian
television at the age of five, sitting on her father's knee.
Sources:
http://www.kimclijsters.be/
http://www.tennisrulz.com/players/clijsters/biography.htm
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/49
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/25/1072308633445.html
http://www.kimclijsters.co.uk/