Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters plans to come out of retirement after a seven-year hiatus, returning to the WTA Tour in 2020, the 36-year-old Belgian said on Thursday. The decision marks Clijsters’ second return to the sport after first retiring in 2007.
“I don’t really feel like I want to prove something,” Clijsters said on the WTA Insider Podcast. “I think for me it’s the challenge.
“The love for the sport is obviously still there. But the question is, am I capable of bringing it to a level where I would like it to be before I 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.”
Clijsters said she has been considering a return to the tour for the past two years.
“I feel like I’ve had more energy these last six months or so than I’ve had in the last two years because I’m taking care of myself better,” Clijsters added.
With 41 titles to her name, Clijsters hung up her racquet after the 2012 U.S. Open and later worked as a tennis commentator.
