Clijsters Could Miss U.S. Open
By Tennis Week
3/20/2007
"The 14th of July is going to be our Big Day: our marriage in Bree. Ten days later, we'll party in the U.S. as well and after that we'll be on a two-week honeymoon," Clijsters announced on her official website Kim Clijsters.com. "Therefore it is difficult to know whether or not I'll be able to make it to the U.S. Open."
Clijsters has committed to playing the Tier II Luxembourg tournament on Sept. 24 and the Tier II Porsche Tour Grand Prix in Stuttgart starting on Oct. 1. They could well be the final tournaments of her career.
"I am sure about Luxemburg and Stuttgart after that as I have close ties with both tournaments and their respective organizing directors: they are fantastic people," Clijsters said. "For some fans these tournaments will be the last chance to see me play one more time. And then tennis will be over I'll finally be starting the new part of my life I have been longing for so hard: family, friends, married life and the dogs I have difficulty with in leaving behind."
The fifth-ranked Belgian skipped Indian Wells, will not play in Belgium's Fed Cup tie against the United States in Delray Beach next month and said she may well miss Roland Garros as well.
"We will have to build in longer resting periods after each tournament," Clijsters said. "This means I will have to cancel Indian Wells as well, in order to have three weeks of rest before Miami. After that, again three weeks until [Warsaw]. It might very well be I'll drop the French Open, so I can be completely fit for Eastbourne and Wimbledon."
Clijsters has played the U.S. Open twice in the past four years, falling to fellow Belgian Justine Henin in the 2003 final, 7-5, 6-1, before bouncing back to capture the 2005 championship with a 6-3, 6-1, victory over Mary Pierce. Clijsters was the world's best hard-court player in 2005, winning 36 of 37 matches on North American hard courts to claim the U.S. Open Series title and earn a record payday of $2.2 million — the largest championship check in women's sports history — at the 2005 U.S. Open.