Dutchman Fred Hemmes Jr. is now the new coach of Kim Clijsters, who presented her staff on Wednesday in Bree.
A former tennis player (188th in the world rankings) 38-year-old Hemmes has worked in the past with Ruben Bemelmans and the Belgian Tennis Federation. He has been with the Kim Clijsters Academy in Bree since Summer.
The other members of Clijsters’ staff include physiotherapists Sam Verslegers and Matthijs Van Speybroeck, and former coach Carl Maes, who will combine his post of director of the Kim Clijsters Academy with an advisory role.
Kim Clijsters, who had announced in September last that she would return to the tennis court in 2020 after a seven-year absence, will take part in the WTA tournament in Monterrey (2-8 March), followed by Indian Wells (11-22 March) and Charleston (4-12 April).
The 36-year-old former World Number 1 had initially programmed her comeback for January, to play in the season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which she had won in 2011. However, a knee injury forced her to change her plans.
The Brussels Times
