Laura Robson

Laura Robson during the 2010 Hopman Cup.
Country	Great Britain
Residence	Wimbledon, London
Born	(1994-01-21) 21 January 1994 (age 18) Melbourne, Australia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Turned pro	2008
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$265,403
Singles
Career record	73–54
Career titles	0 (1 ITF)
Highest ranking	No. 118 (30 January 2012)
Current ranking	No. 126 (28 May 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	1R (2012)
French Open	1R (2012)
Wimbledon	2R (2011)
US Open	2R (2011)
Doubles
Career record	16–19
Career titles	0 (0 ITF)
Highest ranking	No. 99 (21 June 2010)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2010)
French Open	–
Wimbledon	2R (2009)
US Open	–
Last updated on: 28 May 2012.

Laura Robson (born 21 January 1994) is a British tennis player. She debuted on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior tour in 2007, and a year later won the Wimbledon Junior Girls' Championship at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached the final of the Australian Open, in 2009 and 2010. She won her first professional tournament in November 2008. As of 28 May 2012, Robson had a rank on the WTA singles tour of 126 and doubles tour of 1073.^[2]

Early life and junior career[link]

Robson was born on 21 January 1994 in Melbourne, Australia, the third child of Australian parents Andrew, an oil executive with Royal Dutch Shell,^[3] and Kathy Robson, a sports coach and former professional basketball player.^[4] Robson and her family moved from Melbourne to Singapore when she was eighteen months old, and then to the UK when she was six.^[5] According to her parents, she began playing tennis "as soon as she could hold a tennis racquet",^[6] and after being encouraged by them, she entered a junior tennis academy at age 7.^[7] She signed with management company Octagon when she was 10,^[8] with Adidas at age 11,^[9] and also signed a racquet deal with Wilson Sporting Goods.^[8] After working with several coaches, including the head of the Lawn Tennis Association, Carl Maes, she chose coach Martijn Bok in 2007.^[7] Bok said later that although Robson "had trouble staying emotionally under control", he "saw right away...a lot of potential in Laura."^[7] Robson also began training at the National Tennis Centre,^[6] under the guidance of Bok, Maes, and the head of women's tennis at the centre, Nigel Sears,^[7] while taking school lessons at home.^[3]

Robson's first tournament on the junior ITF tour was in May 2007, where she went from the qualifying draw of the tournament to the quarterfinals.^[10] She reached the final of two other tournaments in 2007, and won her first tournament in October.^[10] In the first half of 2008, Robson reached the finals of three tournaments, but was also eliminated before the third round in three straight tournaments.^[10]

Robson on her way to winning the Girls title at Wimbledon

Robson competed in her first junior grand slam at the Wimbledon girls' event, as an unseeded player.^[11] As the youngest player in the tournament,^[12] she beat first seed Melanie Oudin^[13] on her way to the finals, where she defeated third seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.^[12] Her victory made her the first British player to win the girls' event since Annabel Croft in 1984, and the British media described her as the "new darling" of British tennis,^[14] and the "Queen of Wimbledon".^[15] However, former British tennis players such as Croft and Virginia Wade said that "we have to be careful with the expectations we place on her",^[16] and that Robson needed to "build her confidence".^[17]

After a brief period on the main tour, Robson returned to junior competition but was knocked out in the second round of a tournament in December.^[10] In the same month she played her final junior tournament of 2008, the Orange Bowl, where she had to retire in the third round with a stomach strain.^[18] At the end of the year, she was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year,^[19] but lost out to Paralympic swimmer Eleanor Simmonds.^[20]

After recovering from her injury, Robson entered the 2009 Australian Open junior tournament, where she was seeded fifth. In the semifinals she faced a replay of her Wimbledon final, against top seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn,^[21] whom she beat in straight sets 6–4, 6–3, to reach her second Grand Slam junior final. Facing third seed Ksenia Pervak from Russia,^[22] Robson was defeated 6–3, 6–1. She later attributed her loss to Pervak's greater consistency,^[23] and her coach Bok said that "everybody has to be patient".^[9] After the tournament, Robson started to train with Gil Reyes, the former trainer of Andre Agassi.^[9] She was also named the MCC Young Sportswoman of the Year.^[24] She claimed the top ranking of ITF junior tour in April, despite not playing for two months because of shin splints.^[25] At the 2009 French Open

Robson on her way to her second junior slam final at the 2009 Australian Open, she repeated the trip a year later

Robson was the top seed in the junior's competition, but was defeated in round two by Sandra Zaniewska. Robson, as the defending champion at 2009 Wimbledon Championships but she fell in the second round by Quirine Lemoine 6–2, 4–6, 8–6.

Due to her focusing on her Senior career, Robson entered the 2009 US Open unseeded. In the first round she beat Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6–0, 6–1. She then faced the 7th seed Lauren Embree of the United States and beat her 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. She went on to face the 12th seed, Tamaryn Hendler of Belgium, who she defeated 6–2, 6–1. Robson then set up a quarter–final encounter with Lauren Davis of the USA, who she beat 6–2, 6–3. In her semi–final she faced Yana Buchina of Russia. Due to rain delay, both quarter and semi finals were played on the same day, therefore the semi–final match followed the quarter–final match. Despite starting strongly, Robson tired, losing the match 1–6, 6–3, 7–5.

At the junior singles at the 2010 Australian Open, Robson was unseeded and defeated Belinda Woolcock 6–0, 6–1, Yulia Putintseva 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 and Cristina Dinu 6–3, 6–3, to reach the quarterfinals. In the last eight she easily overcame American Ester Goldfeld 6–1, 6–0 to move through to her fourth Junior Grand Slam semi-final where she defeated Kristyna Plíšková of the Czech Republic 6–3, 6–2. She was defeated by Kristyna's twin sister Karolína Plíšková in the final 6–1, 7–6.^[26] In the 2010 Wimbledon junior singles she reached the semi-finals, losing to Sachie Ishizu of Japan.^[27]

Professional career[link]

2008[link]

Following her victory at Wimbledon, Robson made her debut on the ITF senior tour at a $10,000 tournament in Limoges, France.^[28] She won two matches to qualify for the main draw of the tournament, as well as her first round match, before having to retire with a shoulder injury in the second round against the second seed, Marina Melnikova.^[29]

Robson was then given a wildcard into the main draw of the $75,000 ITF in Shrewsbury, Great Britain.^[30] After beating 2007 Wimbledon girls singles champion Urszula Radwańska and fourth seed Tzipi Obziler,^[29] Robson lost to second seed Maret Ani in three sets in the semifinals.^[31][32] She was given another wildcard into the $50,000 tournament in Barnstaple, Great Britain, but was defeated in three sets in her first round match against the seventh seed Angelique Kerber,^[33] who later said that it was "unbelievable how she's playing".^[34]

Her first match on the WTA tour was courtesy of a wildcard into the 2008 Fortis Championships in Luxembourg City. She was drawn in the first round against world number 42, Iveta Benešová but lost 1–6, 6–2, 6–3.^[33] Returning to the ITF circuit, Robson entered as the fifth seed in the $10,000 event held in Sunderland, England.^[35] After beating third seed Laura-Ioana Andrei in the quarterfinals, she beat fellow Britons Tara Moore and Samantha Vickers in straight sets to win her first ITF title at the age of 14 years and 9 months.^[35][36]

2009[link]

Robson returned to the junior tour for the first half of 2009. On 9 June, Wimbledon announced that Robson received a wildcard for the Ladies' Singles event at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.^[37][38] She faced former World No.5 and 2002 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Daniela Hantuchová in the first round but lost 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 despite being a break up in the second set. She also entered into the doubles tournament with Georgie Stoop, progressing to the second round before losing to sixteenth seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova and Amélie Mauresmo. As well as Wimbledon, she competed in two ITF tournaments, one via a wildcard and the second via qualification, but lost in the first round of both.

In August 2009, Robson received a wild card into the 2009 US Open qualifying tournament. She defeated Stéphanie Foretz of France in the first round in straight sets,^[39] 7–5, 6–1 and went on to beat Anikó Kapros of Hungary,^[40] 6–4, 7–5. In the final round, she lost to Eva Hrdinová, after leading 4–1 in the third set.^[41]

On 17 October, Robson entered the qualifying draw at the Luxembourg Open. In the first round of qualifying she defeated world number 180 Zuzana Ondrášková 7–5, 6–4. In the second round of qualifying she defeated Julia Görges, the world number 79, 6–3, 6–2.^[42] In the final round of qualifying she lost to Maria Elena Camerin 3–6, 4–6.^[43] On 10 November, Robson beat Yuliya Beygelzimer 6–3, 6–2 in the first round of the Minsk ITF competition.^[44] She defeated Tetyana Arefyeva 6–0, 6–4 to reach the second round^[45] but was defeated in the quarter-finals by Vitalia Diatchenko 6–3, 6–2.^[46]

2010[link]

Robson began 2010 playing with Andy Murray in the Hopman Cup, as part of Great Britain's first team in the tournament since 1992. She lost her opening match 6–4, 3–6, 0–6 to Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Later in the day she won the mixed doubles match against Kazakhstan, partnering Murray to secure a 6–3, 5–7, [12–10] win. Robson was defeated by Germany's Sabine Lisicki 6–7, 3–6 but won the mixed doubles against Germany. Robson and Murray defeated Russia to advance to the finals. Her first win of the tournament came in the finals against world no. 26 María José Martínez Sánchez of Spain. Robson and Murray made it to the final of the tournament, but lost to Spain's Martinez Sánchez and Tommy Robredo in a very close match 7–6, 7–5.^[47]

Robson was granted a wild card in the qualifying draw for the women's singles of the Australian Open. In her first match, she defeated Sophie Ferguson of Australia 6–4, 2–6, 6–4.^[48] In her second match she lost to Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands 6–4, 7–6. Robson, however, received a Wildcard into the main draw of the doubles, partnering Sally Peers. They defeated Craybas and Spears 6–3, 7–5, to set up a second round clash with the twelfth seeds Chia-Jung Chuang and Květa Peschke, who they beat in straight sets 6–3, 6–4. Peers and Robson won their third round clash with Vera Dushevina of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia in 6–3, 6–3, to advance to the quarter-finals, before falling to the number 15 seeds, Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwańska.^[49]

After the Australian Open Robson did not play again until the start of April. In her third tournament back Robson made the semi-final, losing to Edina Gallovits 6–0, 6–2 of the ITF event in Dothan after having to qualify for the main draw. Robson also played in the doubles and after reaching the quarter finals she reached a career high of 102 for doubles.^[50] She followed this up with a quarter-final appearance in Charlottesville losing to Anastasia Yakimova 2–6, 7–5, 6–3.

She then qualified for the main draw of the Aegon Classic in Edgbaston after receiving a wildcard in qualification. She beat Nina Bratchikova 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 and Vitalia Diatchenko 6–3, 4–0 ret. Robson then went on to win her first ever match on the WTA Tour after her opponent Stefanie Vögele retired during the second set of their first round match. She lost to the third seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round 6–4, 7–5.^[51] She also received a wildcard for the UNICEF Open at Rosmalen but was beaten 6–3, 6–4 by Slovakian Dominika Cibulková in the first round.

She received a wild card for Wimbledon 2010, and faced fourth seed Jelena Janković^[52] which she lost 6–3, 7–6.^[53] Robson's next senior level competition was a AEGON GB Pro-Series event at Woking. Seeded seventh, her first senior seeding, she reached the quarter-finals.^[54] Robson's next competitive match did not come till the end of August 2010, when she entered the qualifying tournament for the 2010 US Open. In the first round she shocked second seed Jelena Dokić by winning 6–1, 6–4. She beat Vesna Manasieva 6–3, 6–2, but lost in the third round to Nuria Llagostera Vives 2–6, 6–4, 6–3.

On 21 September Robson announced that she was to split with her coach Martijn Bok, as Bok was unable to meet her more demanding 2011 tour schedule.^[55]

Robson next competed in the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She beat world number 57 Anastasija Sevastova 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 in the first round of qualifying and successfully qualified for the main draw by beating world number 100 Simona Halep 2–6, 6–2, 6–4. She was defeated 6–4, 6–3 in the first round of the main draw by the experienced 31 year old player Gréta Arn.

2011[link]

For 2011 Robson hired a new coach, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou, and moved her working base to Paris.^[56] Her season was disrupted by injury at the 2011 Hopman Cup, however,^[57] and she did not compete in a tournament until March 2011; her comeback was then delayed for a further month by an injury in her second competition. Returning again at the end of April 2011, Robson's best performance to date came at the $50,000 tournament at Indian Harbor Beach, Florida, where she reached the semifinal. Robson split from Mouratoglou just before Wimbledon.^[58] Robson then won her first match at a Grand Slam as she defeated Angelique Kerber, but lost to Maria Sharapova in the second round, 6–7, 3–6.^[59]

At the US Open, Robson won her three qualifying matches to advance into the main draw.^[60] In the first round of the main draw, she was 7–6, 1–0 ahead, when her opponent, Ayumi Morita, retired from the match.^[61] She was then beaten by Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–2, 6–3.

2012[link]

Robson came through three rounds of qualifying at the Australian Open, beating Melanie Oudin, Anna Floris and Olga Savchuk to advance to the main draw for the first time. She lost 6–2, 6–0 to thirteenth seed Jelena Janković in the first round.

Robson was selected for the first time in her career to be a member of the GB Fed Cup Team to play in the Europe/Africa Group 1 match at Eilat, Israel on 1–4 Feb 2012. In the group stages she played doubles with Heather Watson, defeating pairs from Portugal^[62] and The Netherlands^[63] and Israel in the group stages. Robson and Watson did not need to play the play-off match against Austria as Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha won their singles rubbers, and the 2–0 lead qualified the team for a place in the World Group II promotion play-off in April 2012.^[64]

Playing style[link]

Robson plays left-handed,^[65] with a two-handed backhand. One of her strengths is her "dominant" serve,^[65] which has been described as "the chief reason she can dominate most juniors".^[66] However, she has been criticised for having "poor lateral movement".^[66] She has been praised for showing "extraordinary poise",^[66] and having "the attitude and technique required of a leading player".^[67] Commentator Simon Reed said that she "has every tool she needs",^[68] and former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash called her "a special talent" who "seems to have all the attributes to progress".^[69] Current WTA star Ana Ivanović said that Robson "hits the ball really, really hard",^[33] former top British player Samantha Smith said that "she doesn't have any weaknesses at all",^[15] and Serena Williams stated that Robson is just an "all-around good player".^[70]

Career finals[link]

ITF Singles Titles: 4 (2–2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1	3 November 2008	Sunderland, Great Britain	Hard	Samantha Vickers	6–3, 6–2
Runner-Up	1	11 July 2011	Woking, Great Britain	Hard	Johanna Konta	4–6, 1–1 ret.

Major Junior Finals: 3 (1–2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1	3 July 2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Noppawan Lertcheewakarn	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Runner-Up	2	31 January 2009	Australian Open	Hard	Ksenia Pervak	3–6, 1–6
Runner-Up	3	30 January 2010	Australian Open	Hard	Karolína Plíšková	1–6, 6–7(5–7)

Grand Slam Performance Timeline[link]

Key

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).

• The career record is only for a player's participation in the main draw of the event.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laura Robson

• Laura Robson Website
• Laura Robson at the Women's Tennis Association
• Laura Robson at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
• LTA profile of Laura Robson

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten British female singles tennis players as of 28 May 2012 Elena Baltacha (68 1) Anne Keothavong (81 5) Heather Watson (110 1) Laura Robson (126 ) Naomi Broady (199 4) Johanna Konta (208 4) Melanie South (277 4) Tara Moore (339 4) Samantha Murray (362 5) Emily Webley-Smith (407 4)

Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters at the 2011 Open GDF Suez
Country	Belgium
Residence	Bree, Belgium
Born	(1983-06-08) 8 June 1983 (age 29) Bilzen, Belgium
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb; 10.7 st)
Turned pro	17 August 1997
Retired	6 May 2007 Returned 11 August 2009
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US $24,271,348 (3rd in overall earnings)
Singles
Career record	513–124
Career titles	41 WTA (10th in overall rankings) 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (11 August 2003)
Current ranking	No. 47 (28 May 2012)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2011)
French Open	F (2001, 2003)
Wimbledon	SF (2003, 2006)
US Open	W (2005, 2009, 2010)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (2002, 2003, 2010)
Doubles
Career record	131–54 (70.81%)
Career titles	11 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (4 August 2003)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2003)
French Open	W (2003)
Wimbledon	W (2003)
US Open	QF (2002)
Mixed Doubles
Career titles	0
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon	F (2000)
Last updated on: 28 May 2012.

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters^[3] (Dutch pronunciation: [kɪm ˈklɛistərs] ( listen); born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 28 May 2012, Clijsters is ranked no. 47 in singles. Clijsters is a former world no. 1 in both singles and doubles.

Clijsters has won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She has won four Grand Slam singles titles: three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009, and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011. She has also been runner-up in four Grand Slam singles tournaments, and won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002, 2003, and 2010. In doubles, she won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007,^[4] but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season.^[5] In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.^[6]

In June 2011, TIME magazine named her one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future".^[7] According to Forbes in August 2011, she became the fifth highest-paid female athlete over the past year.^[8]

Playing style[link]

Clijsters is recognized for her powerful groundstrokes, as well as for her backhand slices and drop shots.^[9] She is also recognized for her all-court defense, characterized by her speed, slides, and athleticism.^[10] Maria Sharapova, interviewed after losing to Clijsters in the 2005 Nasdaq-100 Open, said, "You just have to expect that she's going to get every ball back".^[11]

Personal life[link]

Clijsters was born on 8 June 1983, in Bilzen, Limburg, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. She is the daughter of Lei Clijsters, a former international footballer, and Els Vandecaetsbeek, a former national gymnastics champion. Lei Clijsters died of lung cancer on 4 January 2009.^[12] Clijsters says that she inherited footballer's legs from her father and a gymnast's flexibility from her mother.^[13] Kim's younger sister Elke finished 2002 as the ITF World Junior Doubles champion and retired in 2004 after back injuries.

In December 2003, Clijsters announced her engagement to Australian Lleyton Hewitt, but their relationship ended in October 2004.^[14] Clijsters is still affectionately nicknamed "Aussie Kim" by Australians. In October 2006, Clijsters announced her engagement to American basketball player Brian Lynch, who is based in Clijsters' hometown of Bree. In an interview with Sportweekend (a sports programme on Belgian Flemish television), Clijsters said that she was retiring to start a family.^[4] Clijsters and Lynch married privately on 13 July 2007, at 6 am at the Bree city hall. She was married by the mayor, with sister Elke, Lynch's brother Pat Lynch, and both sets of parents present.^[15]

Clijsters gave birth to daughter, Jada Elle, on 27 February 2008, at 1:35 pm at the Vesalius hospital in Tongeren, Belgium.^[16]

Tennis career[link]

Junior career[link]

Clijsters was an accomplished junior player. In singles, she finished as runner-up in the 1998 Wimbledon junior event,^[17] finishing 11th in the year-end singles ranking.^[18] In the same year in doubles, Clijsters won the French Open title with Jelena Dokić, defeating Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova in the final,^[19] as well as the US Open with Eva Dyrberg, defeating former partner Dokic in the final.^[20] Clijsters ended the season as no. 4 in the International Tennis Federation junior doubles world ranking.^[18]

1999[link]

In 1999, Clijsters made her breakthrough professionally. At her first WTA tournament in Antwerp, she qualified and lost to the eventual finalist Sarah Pitkowski-Malcor in the quarterfinal, after failing to convert a match point.

Playing through the qualifying rounds at Roehampton, she made it to the main draw of Wimbledon.^[21] Clijsters won six matches in a row, while only losing 25 games. She defeated no. 10 Amanda Coetzer en route to the fourth round, during which Clijsters lost to her childhood idol,^[22] Steffi Graf, in straight sets, in difficult rainy circumstances.^[21] Later that summer, Clijsters reached the third round of the US Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams after serving for the match. In the autumn, Clijsters won her first Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles title in Luxembourg. She followed up with her first WTA doubles title in Bratislava, partnering Laurence Courtois. At the end of the year, she was granted the WTA Most Impressive Newcomer award, the only Belgian player to have received this trophy.

2000–2002[link]

Clijsters climbed up the rankings over the next couple of years. In 2001, she reached her first Tier I final at the tournament in Indian Wells, California, losing to Serena Williams in a match overshadowed by controversy. Clijsters also reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where she lost to Jennifer Capriati, 10–12, in the third set. This two-hour, 21-minute match featured the longest third set in a French Open women's final. Clijsters was four times within two points of winning, before Capriati prevailed. Her next important breakthrough came at the end of 2002, when she won the year-end Home Depot Championships in Los Angeles, defeating top ranked Serena Williams in the final. This was only the fifth defeat of the year for Williams and snapped her 18-match winning streak. On her way to the final, Clijsters defeated fourth-ranked Justine Henin and second-ranked Venus Williams, becoming just the fourth player to beat both of the Williams sisters in the same event. She also equaled the event's record for the fewest games dropped.

2003: Ascent to No. 1[link]

Clijsters started her season at the Adidas International, where she won her first tournament of the year, defeating Lindsay Davenport in straight sets in the final.^[23] Clijsters reached the final after defeating Patty Schnyder,^[24] Chanda Rubin^[25] and Justine Henin.^[26] At the Australian Open, Clijsters lost in the semifinal to Serena Williams 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, after leading 5–1 in the final set and holding two match points.^[27][28] On the way to the semis Clijsters lost just fifteen games beating Samantha Reeves^[29] and completing a double bagel (wherein the opposing player fails to win a single game) against Petra Mandula.^[30] She then continued by winning in straight sets against Tatiana Poutchek,^[31] Amanda Coetzer, and Anastasia Myskina.^[32] At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the final.

Clijsters in 2003

Clijsters reached the final of the WTA German Open, after defeating Jennifer Capriati 6–4 in the final set.^[33] In the final, she played Justine Henin and squandered three match points to lose the final set, 5–7.^[34] To compound the day, Clijsters also lost the doubles final 4–6 in the final set.^[35]

Clijsters’ third title of the year came at the Telecom Italia Masters in Rome, where she defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the final.^[36][37] Clijsters had defeated Myskina^[38] and doubles partner Ai Sugiyama to make the final.^[39]

At the French Open, Clijsters reached the final for the second time in three years, after defeating Nadia Petrova.^[40] In the final, Clijsters lost to Henin 0–6, 4–6,^[41] and again at the US open, 5–7, 1–6. She also lost in the semifinal at Wimbledon to Venus Williams, after leading by a set and a break.

On 11 August 2003, Clijsters attained the world no. 1 ranking, holding the spot for 12 non-consecutive weeks during the remainder of the year, and was the first player to be top ranked by the WTA without first winning a Grand Slam singles title.

On 18 August 2003, Clijsters also attained the world no. 1 ranking in doubles, joining a very select group of only four players—Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, and Lindsay Davenport—having reached the world no. 1 ranking in singles and doubles simultaneously. By 2010, only Serena Williams had managed to join this group.

The world no. 1 ranking was again at stake in October during the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany. Clijsters rallied from a set down to beat Henin. The match marked only the eighth time that the top two players battled for the top ranking.^[42] Even though Clijsters won that match, she finished the year ranked world no. 2, just behind Henin.

2004[link]

Clijsters started 2004 by playing in the Hopman Cup. During the tie against Australia, Clijsters injured her ankle against Alicia Molik.^[43] Clijsters was on crutches for a few days and feared she might need surgery. Clijsters pulled out of the Adidas International due to the injury.^[44] Clijsters did recover in time to reach her fourth career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, where she lost once more to Henin.^[45] After defeating Marlene Weingärtner, Maria Elena Camerin (with a double bagel),^[46] Dinara Safina,^[47] Silvia Farina Elia,^[48] Anastasia Myskina (during the match Clijsters aggravated her ankle injury),^[49] and Patty Schnyder to reach the final. Clijsters then won two consecutive titles in Paris and Antwerp. In Paris, Clijsters defeated local favourite Mary Pierce in the final.^[50] To reach the final, Clijsters defeated Maria Sanchez Lorenzo,^[51] Farina Elia,^[52] and Safina.^[53] While defending her Tier I title at the Pacific Life Open, Clijsters injured her wrist during her win against Angelika Roesch in her first match. Clijsters withdrew before her second match with the injury described as a bruised bone.^[54] Clijsters withdrew from the event in Miami the next week^[55] Clijsters then appeared six weeks later in her home town of Bree to play in a Fed Cup tie against Croatia,^[56] winning both of her rubbers. Clijsters returned to the tour in Berlin and needed three sets to see Marta Marrero off.^[57] Clijsters then pulled out of her second match and then was told to rest for five weeks, causing her to miss the French Open.^[58] Clijsters then had surgery to remove a cyst, causing her to miss three months of the tour, including Wimbledon and the US Open.^[59][60] Clijsters also missed the Olympics, but she had already decided not to play the tournament after a dispute about clothing sponsors.^[61] Clijsters returned to the Tour at the Gaz de France Stars.^[62] She made the semifinals, defeating Iveta Benešová^[63][64] and Magdalena Maleeva,^[65][66] before pulling out in the second set against Elena Bovina.^[67][68] Clijsters had aggravated the injury and although she did not need surgery, she was out for the rest of the season.^[69] She played down fears that the injury might force her retirement from tennis.^[70]

2005: First Grand Slam title[link]

Clijsters missed the Australian Open due to injury.^[71] In February, after four months out, Clijsters returned to the tour by participating in the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. Her first match back was against Jelena Kostanić, which she won in straight sets,^[72] before losing to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.^[73][74]

Clijsters completed her comeback in March and April, when she won, as an unseeded player, 17 matches in a row to claim two Tier I titles and regain a top-20 ranking. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Clijsters was ranked world no. 133. The Belgian began by beating Nicole Pratt,^[71] Shinobu Asagoe,^[75] Anna Chakvetadze,^[76] and Evgenia Linetskaya,^[77] all without dropping a set. In the semifinals, Clijsters defeated world no. 5 Elena Dementieva in straight sets^[78] and world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the final in three sets.^[79] The week after that win, Clijsters defeated four top-6 players in straight sets to win the NASDAQ-100 Open. To win the title, Clijsters defeated Sandra Kloesel,^[80] Amy Frazier,^[81] Nathalie Dechy,^[82] Anastasia Myskina,^[83] Elena Dementieva, Amélie Mauresmo,^[84] and Maria Sharapova,^[85] going the whole tournament without dropping a set.

Turning her attention to clay, Clijsters’ winning streak continued at the J&S Cup. Clijsters defeated Tatiana Perebiynis,^[86] Maria Kirilenko,^[87] and Elena Bovina. Against Bovina, Clijsters’ picked up a minor shoulder injury.^[88] Clijsters’ 17 match winning streak was finally ended by Svetlana Kuznetsova.^[88] Playing next at the WTA German Open Clijsters defeated Yuliana Fedak^[89] and Dinara Safina in straight sets before, hurting her right knee^[90] and retiring against Patty Schnyder.^[91] Clijsters recovered in time to play in the French Open.^[92] Playing in the French Open for the first time in two years, Clijsters defeated Meilen Tu,^[93] Cervanová, and Daniela Hantuchová^[94] to advance to the fourth round, where she lost to Davenport 1–6, 7–5, 6–3 after leading 3–1 in the second set.^[95]

Clijsters got off to the best possible start for her grass-court season at the Hastings Direct International Championships by winning the tournament. Clijsters defeated Jelena Janković,^[96] Conchita Martínez, Mashona Washington,^[97] Kuznetsova^[98] and Vera Dushevina to claim her third title of the year.^[99] At Wimbledon, Clijsters defeated Katie O'Brien,^[100] Marissa Irvin,^[101] and Roberta Vinci,^[102] before facing Davenport in the round of 16 for the second Grand Slam in a row. The result was the same as the French Open, with the American winning.^[103]

After Wimbledon, Clijsters went on an amazing run of form, where she lost just once between July and October. Clijsters’ run began at the Bank of the West Classic against Ai Sugiyama,^[104] and she defeated Daniela Hantuchová,^[105] Anna-Lena Grönefeld, and Venus Williams to win her fourth title of the year.^[106] Clijsters’ streak continued in San Diego, as she defeated Marta Domachowska^[107] and Janković,^[108] before suffering her only defeat in this run to Shuai Peng.^[109]

After the defeat to Peng, Clijsters continued the run, as she won 22 matches in a row, collecting four straight titles along the way, including her maiden Grand Slam title. The 22-match streak started against Karolina Šprem,^[110] with victories over Safina, Nadia Petrova,^[111] and Francesca Schiavone.^[112] Clijsters collected her fifth title of the year.^[113] The streak continued in Toronto as Clijsters beat Virginie Razzano,^[114] Ana Ivanovic (via a walkover),^[115] Flavia Pennetta,^[116] Anastasia Myskina^[117] and Justine Henin-Hardenne to win the Rogers Cup.^[118] After winning three of her four US Summer Hard court tournaments, Clijsters won the US Open Series, which links all the US summer hard courts together and doubles the winners prize money at the US Open. Giving Clijsters a chance to double the $1.1 million US Open winners prize to $2.2 million.^[119]

Clijsters won her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open, after having reached four Grand Slam finals previously. Clijsters started by defeating Martina Müller,^[120] Fabiola Zuluaga,^[121] Ai Sugiyama^[122] and María Vento-Kabchi^[123] in straight sets to reach the quarter finals. There, Clijsters defeated tenth-seeded Venus Williams in the quarter-finals 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, winning 11 of the last 13 games after being down 6–4, 4–2.^[124] Clijsters squandered five match points in the second set of her semi against Sharapova but eventually won 6–2, 6–7(4), 6–3.^[125] In her fifth attempt, Clijsters won her first Grand Slam final, defeating Mary Pierce in straight sets. By winning the US Open Series Clijsters doubled her US$1.1 million in prize money she received for winning the US Open, to US$2.2 million.^[126][127] The pay check was the largest payday in women's sports history.^[128]

On 15 September, a week after her US Open victory, it was announced that Clijsters and her coach, Marc Dehous, had parted company, which was due in part to her paying him only $9,000 of her $2,200,000 US Open winnings.^[129][130]

Clijsters’ hot streak continued as she extended her streak to 21 wins, even without a coach at the Fortis Championships. Clijsters beat Klara Koukalová,^[131] Schiavone,^[132] Dechy and Lena Groenefeld all without dropping a set to win her eighth title of the year.^[133] The title was Clijsters’ fourth consecutive title.^[134] At the Porsche Grand Prix Clijsters defeated Šprem^[135] for her twenty second consecutive match win before Dementieva ended the streak.^[136]

Clijsters then won her ninth and final tournament of the year at the Gaz de France Stars, defeating Schiavone in the final, to go the whole tournament without dropping a set.^[137] Clijsters defeated Ekaterina Bychkova,^[138] Šprem,^[139] Julia Schruff^[140] and Safina^[141] to make the final.

At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, Clijsters was eliminated in the group stage. Clijsters lost her first match, a rematch of the US Open final, to Pierce 6–1, 4–6, 7–6^[142] and her second match to Mauresmo 6–3, 7–6. This left the Belgian needing to win and hope that the results in the other matches went her way.^[143] Although results did not go her way and Clijsters was eliminated with one match still to play,^[144] she finished her season by defeating Dementieva in straight sets.^[145] Clijsters ended the year ranked World No. 2.

2006[link]

Clijsters in 2006

Clijsters started the year by from her semifinal match at the WTA tournament in Sydney, citing a left hip muscle strain.