‘I’m not ready to quit, I’m going to keep pushing,’ says Kim Clijsters after latest setbacks

WTA Tour
Kim Clijsters interview

She has been forced to delay her return due to “challenges outside of her control”, but Kim Clijsters insists she is not ready to walk away from competitive tennis.

The four-time Grand Slam winner, who made a comeback in February 2020 nearly eight years after her second retirement, was expected to make her 2021 debut at the Miami Open after accepting a wildcard for the WTA 1000 event along with the Charleston Open.

However, the former world No 1 has been forced to withdraw from both tournaments as she is still not 100% after undergoing knee surgery late in 2020 while a positive COVID-19 test also impacted her training.

“In October, I had surgery on my right knee to repair damage sustained over my career and to reduce pain,” she wrote on social media. “Results following surgery were good – rehab and recovery went well and I was feeling really positive.

“As you’ve heard, I had COVID in January and while the symptoms were mild, it did disrupt my training schedule. I’ve had an intensive few weeks of training with my team. Unfortunately I am not where I need to be, especially if I want to compete with the best.”

Despite the setbacks, the 37-year-old mother of three has vowed that she won’t quit.

She added: “It’s disappointing and frustrating. I knew this was going to be hard when I started this journey – and there have been challenges outside my control. I’m not ready to quit… I’m going to keep pushing and see what’s possible.

“I want to thank the Miami and Charleston teams for the wild card opportunities and wish them all the best with their events.

“I am going to undergo some pain management treatment for the next 3-6 weeks and then regroup with my team and see what happens next.”

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Kim Clijsters

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