Former Number One Tennis Singles Player Kim Clijsters Returning to the Sport at 36

Kim Clijsters is officially coming back to the court.

The former Belgian professional tennis player, 36, announced Thursday with a video on Twitter that she will be returning to the sport in 2020.

“Hi guys, I’m excited to finally be able to share this news with you …” she wrote alongside the clip of her journey back to tennis.

“What do I really want from life?” Clijsters asked herself, looking into the camera.

“For the past seven years I’ve been a full-time mom, and I love it. I really, really do,” said the mother to three children, Jada, Jack and Blake, as footage played of Clijsters taking care of her kids.

She continued, “But I also loved being a professional tennis player. And honestly … I miss that feeling.”

“So … what if I tried to do both?” she asked. “Could I be a loving mom to my three kids and the best tennis player I can possibly be?”

Next year, she’s going to try, Clijsters shared.

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

Prior to her retirement, the athlete won 41 WTA titles and was the tennis women’s singles world number one for 20 weeks, the BBC reported.

Clijsters first retired in 2007 to have her oldest child, Jada, following her Grand Slam win at the U.S. Open two years prior, the outlet said. The athlete then came back in 2009, winning twice more at the U.S. Open and at the Australian Open.

After competing in her final U.S. Open in August 2012, Clijsters officially retired from the sport and placed expanding her family high on her priority list, having her second child, Jack, in 2013, and third child, Blake, in 2016.

During her time in retirement, the former player worked as a commentator and at her tennis academy, according to BBC.

“We can talk about the start of 2020 and see where can we get a wildcard, but if I feel in December that I’m not even near to where I want to be, then I’m not going to go just for the sake of going somewhere,” she shared in a WTA Insider podcast Thursday. “I want to feel like I’m getting to where I want to be.”

“I still have three and a half months before and so I still think I can have a lot of improvement to go through in these next few months and that I look forward to seeing where that will lead me.”

“I want to challenge myself and I want to be strong again,” she added. “This is my marathon.”

According to the BBC, Clijsters hopes to return in January.

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