The patter of tiny feet is not an uncommon sound in players' lounges across the world, but in the vast majority of cases they are the children of tennis-playing fathers rather than mothers. While not many fathers win Grand Slam titles – just eight have done so since 1980, with only Jimmy Connors winning more than one – no mother has triumphed since Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980, three years after the birth of her first child. The previous mother to win at the All England Club was Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1914.
Given the parlous state of women's tennis, there are many who predict a highly successful comeback for 26-year-old Clijsters, but history is hardly on her side. Austria's Sybille Bammer, the world No 29, is the only mother in the current top 100 and is one of just eight women since Goolagong who have returned to the main tour after having children.
Most made little impact. Laura Gildemeister won a title in 1989, Rosanna de los Rios reached two tour semi-finals in 2001 and Lindsay Davenport won three tournaments and climbed back into the world's top 25 after her brief return at the end of 2007. The American, who was back on the court barely a month after becoming a mother, gave birth to her second child six weeks ago.
While Federer insists that fatherhood will have no major impact on his career – the world No 1 plans to travel on the circuit with his family – Clijsters will leave any long-term decisions until she completes her three-tournament comeback at the US Open. Her travelling entourage includes her 17-month-old daughter, her husband, her coach, a physical trainer, an osteopath, a media representative and the occasional nanny and friend.
"I'll see how the whole trip went and which things I have to adjust," she said. "It's a new experience for me. I'm travelling with a family. Being back on tour is going to be completely different."
Almost all mothers who return to professional sporting careers agree that practical problems, such as child-care issues, are the biggest to overcome: playing sport is the easy part compared with ensuring the health and happiness of your family.
"There's absolutely no physical reason why players shouldn't come back after having babies," said Dr Anik Shawdon, who has worked as a doctor at the Australian Open. "After pregnancy a woman should be just as strong as she was before, if not stronger. Some women can put on quite a lot of weight during pregnancy, which might mean they will take a little longer to get back into shape, but if you maintain an exercise regime you should be able to come back pretty quickly.
"Many sportswomen actually find that they are mentally stronger when they return. The discipline that you have to follow when you have a baby, particularly if you're breast-feeding, should help you with the discipline you need in your training programme."
Distance runners have been particularly successful. Liz McColgan enjoyed a long and successful marathon career after becoming a mother, while Paula Radcliffe won the New York Marathon only nine months after giving birth. The Scottish golfer Catriona Matthew won the British Open last weekend less than three months after giving birth to her second child.
Davenport's example showed Clijsters what was possible. "Lindsay and I have always kept in touch," she said. "A lot of it was just talking about how the kids were doing, sending pictures of the babies back and forth. We didn't really talk much about life on tour as a mother and as a wife."
Clijsters will be welcomed back into tennis with open arms. Her retirement was a setback for the women's game, particularly as Justine Henin and Martina Hingis quickly followed her off the stage. Her sunny disposition and bold game won both admirers and titles before she quit in May 2007. Although she had only the 2005 US Open to show for her five appearances in Grand Slam finals, the Belgian won 34 singles titles and nearly $15m (some £9m) in prize-money. She was the world No 1 for 19 weeks.
Her commitment to tennis seemed to wane after she struggled with injury problems. She announced her engagement three years ago to Brian Lynch, an American basketball player, married in the summer of 2007 and gave birth to Jada Ellie in February 2008.
The All England Club played a major part in her decision to return. Clijsters played alongside Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Tim Henman in an event to test Wimbledon's new Centre Court roof earlier this summer and so enjoyed getting back into shape that she decided to make a trial return to competition. She has accepted wild cards into tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto as well as the US Open.
Clijsters, who breastfed for nine months and hardly played for two years, said: "When I started playing tennis again my strokes were there very quickly, but physically it was harder. In my mind I know how I wanted to move, when I had to run forward or when I had to take a step backwards, but my mind and body weren't really connecting the same way.
"I really had to tell myself that I had to start from zero and take it one step at a time and try not to look too far ahead, try not to look at negative things. Now, luckily, it feels like it never happened. Now I feel like I'm back in good shape."
Clijsters said the most difficult part was rebuilding her serve. "The timing has to be perfect – bending your legs, rotating your hips, your shoulders, hitting the ball at the right moment," she said. "Everything has to be so correct and precise."
Serena Williams is among those who are predicting a successful comeback. "She was always a strong player and always a fighter," the Wimbledon champion said. "I think she will eventually be able to reach the level she was at before she retired – and probably be even better."
Kim playing in Toronto?. Finally, a reason to watch the women's game!.
While the success of her comeback is yet to be determined I think her return will give the WTA a shot of excitement and interest it so desperately needs.
There may be no chance of Hingis coming back on tour, but Kim Clijsters is an excellent substitute.
All the best to you Kim, I can't wait to see you out on court again =).
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