Former champion Kim Clijsters has decided against playing at the US Open in her final year on tour.
However, the 23-year-old Belgian, who has already pulled out of the French Open, plans to play both doubles and singles at Wimbledon.

"That way, I will be able to stay a bit longer at my last Grand Slam," she told her official website.

Clijsters, who has struggled with injuries during her career, will make her next outing in Warsaw on 30 April.

She complained of a sore back after making an early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open in March and has not yet resumed training.

"The will is not fully there yet, but I want to get used to clay again," she said.

Clijsters will get married to American basketball player Brian Lynch on 14 July in her hometown of Bree.

The final tournament of her career is expected to be the WTA event in Stuttgart from 1 October.

Good, the sooner shes off the tour the better. She is REALLY starting to take the piss now, and im glad im not a fan of hers because i would REALLY feel let down. She is a nice girl though ;) roflmao

Wow.

:huh: :huh: :huh:

We could all see it coming. She is that desperate to get her nuptials she is pulling out of events left right and centre. To be so wishy washy with the tour that made her rich and famous is a disgrace

I reluctantly agree, I finally came to terms with her decision to retire early but to make such a hash of her final year on tour is a bit of a disgrace. At least go out with a bang Kim :doh:

Perhaps now Serena's back though, she knows she doesn't have a chance to win a slam this year so is concentrating on her wedding :devil: roflmao

So strange :huh: Why is she bothering to play Stuttgart? Shouldn't she just retire at Wimbledon :shrug:

Is it true that despite skipping the French Open, she's planning to play in Warsaw?
Also her results at Wimbledon have been worse than at the other 3 grand slams, so it's strange that she's making that her final ever slam appearance.

Very weird scheduling I must say.

She's a weirdo is all I can say :shrug: roflmao

She's using Warsaw as preparation for Eastbourne :lol:

Anyway, Kim's decision, but I think she retired after Antwerp really...

It's all pretty undignified and silly. If there is one slam that she might want to say farewell to, it is the slam that she managed to avoid choking away. Now I think she should retire with her money and her haul of minor trophies.

She should realise, only the Williams sisters can get away with being part-time tour players ;)2

True, we should've known after that AO debacle not to expect anymore big wins of Kim this year.

I still want Vee and Serena to trash her once more for old times sake though roflmao

it's getting to the point for me that kim just needs to go away - permanently. you had a good run, but you are clearly so over tennis.

playing singles and doubles at wimbledon because it will prolong my stay at the tournament?? excuse me?? unacceptable :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

adios...

I just realised, Kim hasn't and won't play the US Open since she won it in 2005. She will remain undefeated there :lol:

Do you guys think that Kim will be inducted into the hall of fame, and if so do you think she would deserve it? Sabatini was inducted so my guess is that Kim will be as well.

I don't like these protracted 'goodbyes'.. kind of milking the moment, you know??

Anyway, it's clear that her thoughts have been elsewhere for a while now.

Id be surprised if she wasn't inducted at some point.

She has got to a lot slam finals as well, which counts.

Plus her other works as well popularising tennis in Belgium Im sure...

What is also ironic about all this for me is that Justine and Kim are the two Belgian girls; until recently Kim lead the head to head, it's still pretty close now, they were great rivals as juniors, Kim got to a GS Final first she was number one first. Yet HOW MANY MORE Grand Slams Justine will have at the end of her career, than Kim is just crazy. All very strange.

They really are cut from a different cloth SW, in terms of their pschological makeups, as well as their style of play.

btw I always liked Kim's quote that she inheirted her athleticism from her gymnast mum, and her legs from her footballer dad! roflmao

roflmao

I don't if Kim has always been a choker though, I think it's just in big match situations. In the Sydney Final she was very mentally strong against Jankovic. It's certainly a unique and odd career though.

she definately deserves and will get induction.

:rolleyes:

self-indulgent to the core this woman :rolleyes: roflmao

So her last few tourny's are:

Warsaw
Eastbourne
Wimbledon
Luxembourg
Stuttgart

madness :rolleyes: roflmao

Agreed. I like Kim. So what if she doesn't want to play certain tournies? There is more to life than tennis for some and she has her life to lead her way with her choices. She is a nice lass and I like nice lasses.

Well done Kim, I will certainly miss you. I hope she has a good run at Wimbledon.

I would venture to think that Clijsters wants to have one last crack at Wimbledon because it's the only Slam final she hasn't reached. Maybe she wants to shore up those HoF credentials. B)

I can't really see it happening, however. Sharapova has had her number lately, ditto Mauresmo, Henin has had it for even longer, and the Williams sisters seem as though they will not only actually both show up but be in fighting form as well, looking to restore the trend of what had been six consecutive years with at least one of them in the final (twice featuring both). And all of these ladies go into the event as favourites by virtue of being former champions (or twice-finalist in the case of Henin).

Otherwise I'm not really fussed about the erratic shape of her retirement 'tour,' though I am surprised she'd show up in Warsaw; I was under the impression she was taking a pass on the clay entirely. Perhaps she'd like to have a shot at defending a title in her last season as well.

Just from what Kim said about playing doubles as well, you know she's only going there to say good bye. Even though it's wielded her poorest results, she does like Wimbledon and enjoys it there. Plus she has played some excellent tennis there, pushing Venus to three in 2003 and Lindsay in 2005, and having Justine on the ropes for much of their 1st set last year.

But she's not going there as a title contender is she. Hope she gives some nice smiles to the fans though :D

Hall of fame? more like hall of infamy :angry: her fans deserve better than this :angry: this fiance of hers must be a monster in bed thats all i can say

This has really annoyed you hasn't it Liam? :lol:

Don't worry Im sure Mary will go out on a far more herioc note ;)

Exactly, men have come, men have gone, but Marys dedication to the sport that made her has been constant, if not legendary :bow: :bow: . Kim should have auditioned for Maria Von Trapp rather than become a tennis player :angry:

roflmao

It's being such a workhorse that has burned her out so early, plus she's too nice to thrash her opponents any more :)

hingis/clijsters for wimbledon doubles :clap:

She'll get inducted in 2012 as a former World #1 and deservedly so. I like Kim. She can (and has done) beat anyone on her day. She's never had the drive to be a Steffi or Martina or a Williams but she's been entertaining and that's what it's all about. Give her a break, let her go when she wants. If you don't want to get involved with the protractions, don't. If you want to, go ahead. I fail to see how any of us can tell her what she should do. Hope she kicks everyone's arses at Wimbledon!!

Hear, hear, Roysie! I've greatly enjoyed watching Kim play (unlike those of you who find her style of play boring), I agree with whoever said that sheis a nice lass (Gav?), and she should be allowed to go out how she chooses. Good luck, kim, and beat the hell out of 'em at Wimbledon :yahoo:

Im actually quite sick of this Clijsters and her retiring plans adn what to play and what not to play.She should just damn quit now and save us all the indigestion,coz thats what she has become,a damn stomach pain!

I loved this gilr but now all this wedding talk and retiring and pulling out of events is sickening!Give it rest Kim.We are sick of you and this tripe! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

Spot on Dark, Clijsters has retired in all but name, she is now merely irritating.

DN and BT.... I take it you two are not fully paid up members of the "I Love Kim" society then? I hate to be presumptious on that of course... :P :P

I think Liam founded that society..... B)

Ay Gav,you are so funny :D
I mean how much can we as tennis fans take.This is suppose to be her last year and look at what a sham it is.Its a joke and what gets to me is that she keeps going on and on about how hard it is to choose what to play coz its going to clash with her honeymoon,what a load of shit!Pardon my language! But like someone else pointed out its a disgrace and an insult to the sport that basically is funding her wedding and homeymoon.She should be ashamed.

I hope she comes down here to South Africa and go to a place called Oudtshoorn.There she will find Ostrich farms by the dozen and she can join them in buring their heads in the sand.She is much safer doing that coz with her behaviour she going to enrage some demented fan that might hurt her!

Hmmm i've never been a big fan of Kim and for many of the reasons we see in this odd farewell tour - I'd much rather support Justine who loves tennis & loves to win rather than Kim's lets just all be friends approach!

However if this is how she wants to end her career then all power to her - she's achieved everything she wants to in her career - she's been number 1, won slams in singles and doubles & many other tournaments including the YEC so why not just enjoy herself in her final year.

Her final tournaments all make sense to me

Warsaw - to defend her title
Eastbourne - she likes the place (very quiet & homely - perfect for Kim!) and for warming up for Wimbledon.
Wimbledon - She has stated it's her favourite slam, yes she hasn't been as successful here but given everything we know about Kim why are we expecting that to matter to her!? Though if she's going to play doubles to keep her there longer I think it's better she play mixed as she'd have a better chance of staying longer though if she does play ladies then i'm sure Kuznetsova, Mauresmo, Petrova or Hingis would play with her.
Luxembourg - First title she won.
Stuttgart - She's won in here in the past & this has been historically a big favourite of players along the years - winning the Porsche probably has something to do with it!.

As for other points - of course she'll get in the hall of fame - her career has been better than Sabatini or Novotna's who both got in.

And not playing the US Open is no surprise - a lot of European players make clear they're not fond of the place - too noisy & busy and why play there - it's not like she can improve on her previous performance especially as she's missing all the warm up events.

I've quite liked Kim over the years, but you’re either in the game or your not, i don’t see the point of this half hearted pretence that she’s competing when she’s basically retired already. It’s a dreary end to quite a distinguished career.
She should get on with being pregnant if that’s what she wants-maybe she already is!

Agreed.Though Im not a fan of Justine,I just like her tennis as she is a female Federer.That friends nonsense from kim just used to rub me the wrong way!

roflmao

Love it roflmao