Kim Clijsters kicks off comeback in Chicago

Kim Clijsters is set to play her first match since 2020 at the Chicago Fall Classic on Monday. The former No.1 announced in 2019 that she would be coming out of retirement in 2020, and after the pandemic stalled her momentum, the 38-year-old Belgian will face Hsieh Su-Wei in just her fourth match since retiring at the 2012 US Open.

I've been practicing for a long time so I'm excited to start playing matches again," Clijsters told reporters during her pre-tournament press conference in Chicago. "That's the reason I'm here, to play more matches so I can slowly build my level and get more match rhythm and match routine under my belt.

"I feel like in practice I'm doing a lot of things well and I'm getting fitting and stronger. Now it's just a matter of trying to get enough matches."

The four-time major champion has described her decision to return to the tour as "her marathon". While her friends are training to run marathons before they turn 40, Clijsters is pounding the pavement on tour.

Prior to the pandemic, Clijsters kicked off her most recent comeback at the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she drew Australian Open finalist Garbiñe Muguruza and lost 6-2, 7-6(6). After bowing out in the first round of Monterrey to Johanna Konta before the pandemic shut down the sport for four months, and returned at the US Open that fall. In New York, Clijsters won the first set of her comeback before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

"Going to some of the events and hitting with some of the players just triggered a challenge within myself," Clijsters said. "That was the main reason, that little trigger of, I wonder if I can get myself in a situation where I can play the tennis I like to play and I know I can play."

Post-retirement success is well-tread territory for the affable Belgian, who retired for the first time in 2007 at the age of 23. When she returned to the tour unranked two years later after the birth of her daughter Jada, Clijsters proceeded to win the US Open in just her third tournament back. She went on to win two more majors at the 2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open, the 2010 WTA Finals in Doha, and rose to No.1 in 2011 before retiring a year later.

"With me and my stage now, a lot of things are new. Understanding how my body reacts differently after three children. I feel like I've been able to play more practice sessions in a row than I have in a long time. So that feels really good, being able to do that."

"I try to do all my workouts either really early - I'm a 5 a.m. person - doing a workout before the kids wake up, and trying to get everything done when the kids are in school. "Then I can do all the normal things that parents do: driving them to their hobbies, cooking and cleaning. I love the challenge."

Clijsters says she has no concrete goals as she ramps up her comeback. She was a player who relied on gut instinct and feel during her career and that has not changed. So long as she is motivated and seeing improvements, Clijsters says motivation will not be an issue.

"Seeing Andy Murray and the way he speaks about his comeback and everything, it's so motivating and it gives you a lot of energy too," Clijsters said. "To see him go through the things he's gone through and be open about the challenges of it and the belief that he has, I feel like it's something I can relate to."

wtatennis.com

Well she didn't win, but boy she was close. Of course she had to get Hsieh as a first round, the trickiest player on tour. And she almost won. 

If she plays like this the next tournament could be interesting. Though she's also playing some doubles in Chicago definitely will be checking that out.

Iga Swiatek enters top 5 after Ostrava

A week ago Iga Swiatek rose to a new career-high of No. 6, and this week she goes two better, rising to No. 4 after a semifinal showing at the WTA 500 event in Ostrava.

Not only is the 2020 Roland Garros champion the only woman to have reached the round of 16 or better at all four Grand Slams in 2021, but she’s actually reached the round of 16 or better at 11 of the 14 tournaments she’s played this year, period, including titles at the WTA 500 in Adelaide in February and at the WTA 1000 in Rome in May.

Swiatek was asked about her consistency at the majors this year at the US Open, where she reached the fourth round before falling to Belinda Bencic.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” she said. “I was thinking about it, like, two days ago, that it’s the only year basically when I don’t have any injury, and I don’t have to deal with that. I have other problems right now, but it’s easier when my body’s actually listening to me.

“So I’m just proud of my team and I’m really grateful I’m getting all the help I need. I’m pretty happy that I’m consistent. I know without them I wouldn’t be like that.

"Yeah, shout-out to my team.”

Swiatek is the 72nd woman in WTA rankings history (since 1975) to reach the Top 4. There have been 27 women who’ve reached No. 1, 12 who’ve gone as high as No. 2, 12 who’ve gone as high as No. 3 and now 21 who’ve gone as high as No. 4.

She’s also one of only two Polish players ever to reach the Top 5 in either ATP or WTA rankings history—Agnieszka Radwanska got to No. 2. The only other Polish player to reach the Top 10 was Wojtek Fibak, who got to No. 10 on the ATP rankings in 1977.

The woman who beat Swiatek in the semifinals of Ostrava over the weekend, Maria Sakkari, also makes a very notable move today, rising from No. 12 to No. 10 to become the second Greek player—and first Greek woman—to reach the Top 10 in either ATP or WTA rankings history. Stefanos Tsitsipas was the first Greek player to do it—he’s currently holding steady at a career-high of No. 3 on the ATP rankings.

Before Tsitsipas and Sakkari, the only Greek player to even reach the Top 20 was Eleni Daniilidou, who peaked at No. 14 in the world in the early 2000s.

With Tsitsipas at No. 3 and Sakkari at No. 10, Greece is one of only two countries to have Top 10 players on both the ATP and WTA rankings right now—Spain is the other, with Rafael Nadal currently ranked No. 6 and Garbine Muguruza at No. 9.

A little further down on the ATP rankings there was a Top 50 debut for one of 2021’s breakthrough stars, Ilya Ivashka, who rose from No. 52 to No.45 after reaching his third ATP semifinal of the year in Nur-Sultan. The Belarusian had also reached the final four in Munich and won his first ATP title in Winston-Salem, right before the US Open.

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Iga Swiatek sets up French Open rematch with Maria Sakkari in Ostrava semis

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek and No.4 seed Maria Sakkari claimed their allotted spots in the J&T Banka Ostrava Open semifinals on Friday, setting a final four showdown between the two in Ostrava.


Top seed Swiatek of Poland defeated No.7 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 7-6(5), 6-2, to book her place in the semifinals. In the first meeting between the Top 20 players, Swiatek needed an hour and 41 minutes to hold off the challenge from Rybakina and make her first semifinal since her title run at Rome in early May.

Stat corner: Swiatek was stellar behind her first serve, winning over three-quarters of those points, but less so on her second serve, where Rybakina took charge and claimed 61 percent of points. Ultimately, Swiatek was able to get a strong 72 percent of first serves into play, helping her along to victory.

Key moments: In an aggressive tussle, it was Swiatek who grabbed the early 3-1 lead before Rybakina gritted out a challenging service break with a rally crosscourt backhand to level the opening set at 3-3. Swiatek, though, kept the Kazakh at bay with powerful groundstrokes from both sides, and an easy hold for 6-6 by the Pole set up a first-set tiebreak.

Strong serving by both players kept the breaker competitive, with Swiatek claiming the first set point at 6-5 after consecutive unreturned deliveries. The top seed converted that chance, staying sturdy through a lengthy rally until Rybakina sent a backhand miscue wide. Despite having fewer winners than Rybakina and an equal amount of unforced errors, Swiatek swiped the set.

With the momentum behind her, Swiatek charged ahead 5-1 in the second set, although Rybakina clawed one break back in that game, edging to 5-2 with a backhand winner down the line on break point. But the big Swiatek forehands came out in force in the next game, and she prevailed in a protracted battle to convert her third match point in that game.

 wtatennis.com

Roger Federer: "The rehab is going really well"

Sidelined since his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Hubert Hurkacz, Roger Federer provided an update on his fitness in an interview with a sponsor.

Federer fans can rest easy. The Swiss player is as determined as ever to return to the courts. In a video posted on his social media accounts on 15 August, he nevertheless expressed some doubts about his ability to undergo a third operation on his right knee. “I want to give myself some hope of returning to the Tour in an acceptable way,” he said in the interview. “I’m a realist, don’t get me wrong. I know how hard it is at my age to go under the knife again and attempt to make another comeback.”

With the Laver Cup just a few days away, those measured words struck a more negative tone than Federer’s last public statement. Aware that his return to action will take time, the former world No. 1 is determined nevertheless to look on the bright side. “I’m on the mend and rehab is going really well, with no hiccups,” said a smiling Federer. “Every day is better, and I feel strong and excited about the future. […] Obviously, I’d like to be back on a tennis court as soon as I can, but I have to be patient. I need to take it step by step, but things are going well, so I’m really happy.”

Though the 20-time Grand Slam winner is looking ahead to a possible return in 2022, he is not yet in a position to put a realistic date on that. The injury he picked up on the London grass this year forced him to miss the Olympic Games, the US Open and the closing events of the season. Prior to his Wimbledon injury flare-up, the Swiss graced the Doha, Geneva, Roland-Garros, and Halle tournaments. And as long as his desire and determination remain intact, there is no question that he will make every effort to return to the elite once more.

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Iga Swiatek into quarter finals in Ostrava

The top two seeds at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open both passed rigorous second-round tests to kick off their Czech campaigns.

No.1 Iga Swiatek handled the tricky challenge of Yulia Putintseva with poise, advancing to her fourth quarterfinal of the year 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes. She was followed on Center Court by No.2 Petra Kvitova, who was stretched all the way by qualifier Anastasia Potapova before winning 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 in two hours and five minutes.

Playing the second indoor WTA main draw of her career following Budapest 2019, where she reached the second round, Swiatek was given a tough workout by Putintseva, whom she was facing for the first time. The Kazakh was coming off a strong semifinal run in Portoroz last week, and her canny tactics and supreme defence provided a worthy foil to Swiatek's power.

Both players probing each other's games for weaknesses made for a number of absorbing, variety-filled exchanges in which every corner of the court was used. But although Putintseva's ability to mix spin, pace and direction tested Swiatek to the limit, the Pole remained positive and gradually got to grips with what she needed to do. By the second set, it was Swiatek who was increasingly emerging on top of even the longer rallies.

Match management: Putintseva had battled for three hours and 24 minutes to quell Zhang Shuai in the first round just 24 hours earlier, and was uncharacteristically errant as she swiftly fell behind 0-3. But once the 26-year-old found her groove and levelled at 3-3, almost every game was tightly contested.

It came down to Swiatek's ability to rise to the occasion at the tail end of each set, both of which she sealed with a break of her opponent's serve. She peaked with some dazzling all-court aggression to rattle off the last eight points of the first set, scoring winners at net and, on set point, off the return.

In the second, Swiatek showed her grit. Leading 3-2, she missed triple break point to break Putintseva; at 4-4, she had to fend off two against her, coming up with her fourth ace and a brace of brilliant backhand winners to do so. The final game saw Putintseva open the door with a pair of loose errors, and Swiatek needed no further encouragement. Two more backhand bangers in a row saw her edge over the line.

Quotable: "It was very tough," said Swiatek in her on-court interview. "She was running to every ball - it was really hard to finish her, especially with such a slow surface. She could reach everything and she was fighting to the end - even on match point I had to finish her, like, three times.

"I'm really happy I won, because normally it's really hard for me to play with such players. I like to risk and with risking comes unforced errors, so it's tough to get the balance between when to push and when to stay and wait for the opponent to miss."

wtatennis.com