For her great comeback at age 36, Kim Clijsters will face Dutch Kiki Bertens, eighth world player, in the first round of the WTA tennis tournament in Dubai.
Clijsters had announced last September her return to the courts in 2020, after more than seven years of absence.
The former world No. 1 had originally scheduled her comeback in January at the Australian Open, the season’s first Grand Slam, which she won in 2011, but a knee injury forced her to change her plans. She then announced that her first tournament would be that of Monterrey, Mexico, in March.
But finally, Clijsters preferred to advance her highly anticipated return, and will begin her third career in Dubai, a tournament on hard surface with a prize of 2,643,670 dollars.
She trained with the Fed Cup team last week in Kortrijk. Her first opponent will be Kiki Bertens, 28, eighth world player and nine WTA titles. Last year, Bertens won St Petersburg and Madrid tournaments.
Clijsters first took a break in 2007 and returned to competition in 2009, after the birth of her first child, Jada. She owns 41 titles, including four Grand Slams (US Open 2005, 2009 and 2010 and the Australian Open in 2011).
The Brussels Times
