retire@40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,670
By CONSTANT BRAND, Associated Press Writer
May 6, 2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Her muscles aching when she gets out bed, Kim Clijsters is done with tennis at 23.
The former U.S. Open champion, once ranked No. 1, initially planned to quit after the season. Now, with injuries having exacted too much and her thoughts turning to family and a "new life," her retirement is immediate.
"Health and private happiness are so much more important," she said on her Web site Sunday.
Still ranked No. 4, Clijsters said she was wary of the injuries that have led to fatigue, lack of motivation and a decline in play.
"It's tiring to get out of bed and to use an hour just to warm up stiff muscles in the morning," she wrote in Dutch on her online diary. "The constant injuries and continual rehabilitation ... it makes it all even more difficult to go on."
Clijsters made the decision after losing in straight sets to Ukrainian qualifier Julia Vakulenko in her final match Thursday, failing to defend her title in Warsaw, Poland.
Clijsters has been playing for 10 years and won 34 career singles titles, including the 2002 and 2003 WTA Championships. She had wanted to go out with style, making Wimbledon the last Grand Slam tournament of her career. Instead, her summer will be marked by her July 14 wedding to Brian Lynch, a former Villanova basketball player now playing in Belgium.
"It has been more than fun, but the rackets are being hung up," she said. "To retire before the age of 24, it is very young -- but it was so beautiful. I would have been able to continue for a few months and to take part in the four most lucrative tournaments (three Grand Slams and the Masters). Money is important, but not the most important thing in my life."
May 6, 2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Her muscles aching when she gets out bed, Kim Clijsters is done with tennis at 23.
The former U.S. Open champion, once ranked No. 1, initially planned to quit after the season. Now, with injuries having exacted too much and her thoughts turning to family and a "new life," her retirement is immediate.
"Health and private happiness are so much more important," she said on her Web site Sunday.
Still ranked No. 4, Clijsters said she was wary of the injuries that have led to fatigue, lack of motivation and a decline in play.
"It's tiring to get out of bed and to use an hour just to warm up stiff muscles in the morning," she wrote in Dutch on her online diary. "The constant injuries and continual rehabilitation ... it makes it all even more difficult to go on."
Clijsters made the decision after losing in straight sets to Ukrainian qualifier Julia Vakulenko in her final match Thursday, failing to defend her title in Warsaw, Poland.
Clijsters has been playing for 10 years and won 34 career singles titles, including the 2002 and 2003 WTA Championships. She had wanted to go out with style, making Wimbledon the last Grand Slam tournament of her career. Instead, her summer will be marked by her July 14 wedding to Brian Lynch, a former Villanova basketball player now playing in Belgium.
"It has been more than fun, but the rackets are being hung up," she said. "To retire before the age of 24, it is very young -- but it was so beautiful. I would have been able to continue for a few months and to take part in the four most lucrative tournaments (three Grand Slams and the Masters). Money is important, but not the most important thing in my life."
But, if you can work a short year and make $18 mill... work every fourth day and not have to go with the team if you do not have to pitch
