Kim Clijsters loses, ends her career at US Open

Sad to see Kim Clijsters lose her second round match at the US Open today – the last match of her professional career.

Kim had retired before then came back after having a baby.

But this time, with so many injuries slowing her down in the past year, this appears to really be it.

At 29, she has much to be proud of.

At the time of her first retirement, she had briefly been number one in the world and won the 2005 US Open. Although impressive, it did seem like she had underachieved a bit at the majors.

But she came back in 2009 and in her third tournament, beat Venus Williams and Serena Williams to win the US Open. The next year, she won it again then took the 2011 Australian Open title to win her fourth grand slam title.

“Thank you first of all,” Clijsters told the crowd after her 7-6, 7-6 loss to Laura Robson. “One of my biggest dreams came true in 2005 wining here. Every time I came back I was so inspired by the energy out on this court. I played some of my best tennis here and some of my greatest matches. This completely feels like the perfect place to retire.”

At the post-match press conference she reflected on her career: “Now that I am almost completely finished, you think about when I first stepped on the tour, and met Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. It’s been an incredible journey, and a lot of dreams have come true for me because of tennis.”