Kim Clijsters will be back in competition from March 2020, the Belgian tennis star announced on Instagram on Monday.
Clijsters will compete in the WTA tournament to be held on 2-8 March in Monterrey, Mexico, after which she will play in the United States at Indian Wells (11-22 March) and Charleston (4-12 April).
Clijsters had announced in September that she would be returning to the courts in 2020 after a seven-year absence. The former World Number 1 had initially scheduled her comeback for January, to feature in the Australian Open, the first season’s first Grand Slam, which she had won in 2011, but a knee injury forced her to delay her return.
Clijsters said her knee was much better even if it had not fully recovered. She added that she had intensified her training and that felt good. The training had lasted long enough, she explained, but she still needed to be patient for a few more weeks and to be ready.
Clijsters first retired in 2007, then returned to competition in 2009, after the birth of her first child, Jade. Her new comeback starts in March in Monterrey, Mexico, venue of the Abierto GNP Seguros, a WTA International Tournament on hard court created in 2009.
Her next competition will be at Indian Wells, which is a Premier Mandatory tournament, the second level after the Majors.
Clijsters won two singles championships in California - in 2003 and 2005 - beating Lindsay Davenport in both finals. In 2001, she had been beaten in the finals by Serena Williams.
She also has one doubles championship under her belt, teaming up in 2003 with Japan’s Ai Sugiyama.
Clijsters has never before played in Monterrey or Charleston.
The Brussels Times
