Kim Clijsters puts tennis comeback on hold, citing knee injury

Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters has postponed her return to the WTA tour due to a knee injury. The mother of three was set to come out of the retirement in January, but has been forced to put the plan on hold. She took to social media to make the announcement:

In September, Clijsters had announced her return to WTA tour for the upcoming 2020 season.

“For the past seven years, I’ve been a full-time mum. And I love it. I really, really do,” she said. “But I also love being a professional tennis player. And honestly, I miss that feeling. So… what if I tried to do both? Could I be a loving mum to my three kids and the best tennis player I can possible be?

“Let’s do this. Let’s come back one more time. See you in 2020.”

This is not the first time Clijsters has come out of the retirement. In 2007, she hung up her racquet before making a successful comeback in 2009. During her short-lived retirement, she married Brian Lynch—a former professional basketball player—and gave birth to a daughter, Jada, in 2008.

When she returned to the pro circuit, Clijsters won three of her four majors, and became the only mother to ever claim the No. 1 spot on the WTA rankings. She won her maiden Slam at the 2005 US Open.

In 2017, Clijsters was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.