Clijsters drops out of China Open, cites medical reasons
This year’s US Open champion, tennis pro Kim Clijsters, announced earlier today that she would be unable to participate in next month’s China Open.
The 27 year old tennis champion, popularized as one of the “comeback queens of tennis”, made a return to tennis in 2009 after a two year hiatus from the game, during which she married American basketball player Brian Lynch and gave birth to a baby girl,
Jada Ellie.
Clijsters, who represents Belgium, is a right handed player with a two handed backhand. She holds an 80.8% win record, with 476 successes to 113 losses. She has also accumulated 39 WTA titles, along with 3 ITF tournament wins. With a current ranking of World
Number 5, Clijsters is the former World Number 1, with three wins at the US Open, and appearances in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open. She has also made it to the semi finals of Wimbledon in 2003 and 2006.
The tennis mama has garnered several titles in 2010. She began the year with the Brisbane International in Australia, where she defeated players such as Tathiana Garbin, Alicia Molik, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Petkovic and ultimately Justine Henin in a three
set match to win her 36th career title.
Her next great win was at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, which was the second Premier Mandatory event this year. Clijsters dropped just two games through her defeat of Petra Kvitova and Shahar Pe’er, and then defeated defending champion Victoria Azarenka in
straight sets. Other opponents included Sam Stosur, Henin and finally, Venus Williams, whom she defeated in under an hour to claim the title.
After this tournament, Clijsters suffered an injury at the Fed Cup, causing torn muscles in her leg. She was forced to withdraw for the rest of the clay season. Her next big win was at the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open, the tournament
where she had made her comeback. This was the first event from the 2010 US Open series which Clijsters participated in. She received a bye in the first round, and proceeded to defeat former World Number 1 Dinara Safina, wild card Christina McHale and 11th
seed Flavia Pennetta. She had a walkover in her match with Ana Ivanovic, who retired due to a foot injury. At the final, Clijsters went head to head with Maria Sharapova in a gruelling three set match, which she ultimately won 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.
Her latest victory was at the 2010 US Open, where she was a second seed and one of the top favourites to win. She defeated opponents such as Sally Peers, Kvitova, Ivanovic, Stosur, Williams and in the final, Vera Zvonareva, to defend her title for the Major.
However, this year, the US champion will be forced to skip the 2010 China Open, held in October. Clijsters cited her reasons as surgical, saying she had to have moles removed from her foot.
On her website, Clijsters said, “I am very sorry to have to cancel for Beijing. The operation had been planned for quite a while. However, the wound on my sole heals really bad. Therefore playing tennis is not possible.”
The tournament will now be headlined by Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams.
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