It’s been quite the news day for the tennis world. With the French Open starting next week, these announcements seem untimely.
First off and more importantly, former world #1 Kim Clijsters has announced that she will be re-retiring from tennis after the 2012 US Open. If you don’t recall, Kimmy first retired in May of 2007, got married, had a kid, and in 2009 decided to make a comeback the WTA tour. And boy, what it comeback it was!
Pretty much, Kim came off a long time away from competitive tennis only to tear the 2009 US Open a new one. Clijsters received a wildcard entry to the Open, nobody expected her to have the run she did. It was one of the most surreal tournaments I have ever seen, Kim Clijsters was killing it out there, she beat Marion Bartoli, Venus Williams, Li Na, Serena Williams, and took out Caroline Wozniacki in the finals. It did help that Serena Williams threatened one of the line judges in the semis, though Kim was still on a very solid path to take out the American. Clijsters was able to defend her 2009 US Open title, by beating Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1.
Her final tournament will be the 2012 US Open. In a press conference Clijsters said, ““Everything is going well with me. All injuries are history since two weeks and I am playing tennis again. The U.S. Open is the tournament that has brought me the greatest triumphs, hence it something special for me. The stadium is also just 45 minutes from our house in the U.S. and my parents could be there.”
The “comeback queen” will certainly be missed, she has been an integral part of women’s tennis, proving that one can play, take a break, start a family, and come back and kick butt. She’s always been entertaining to watch compete.
In other news, men’s world #1, Novak Djokovic has parted ways with clothing company Sergio Tacchini. There have been rumors about the split; I’ve heard that ST could not afford to pay Djokovic the win bonuses because he was winning so often (remember 2011?). The rumors were always followed with ‘who’ he was going to wear after Sergio…was it Nike? Back to Adidas? Shockingly, it’s not Nike, rather Nole will be the new face of Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo. The same company that clothed Kei Nishikori. Novak Djokovic will be wearing the new threads at the 2012 French Open. 
I’m shocked on both accounts, less so on Kims’ retirement; I kind of saw that coming from a mile away. Though Djokovic’s move to Uniqlo was more jaw dropping; I would have thought he would have quickly gone to Nike or even dressed in all Head gear. Nike would have been the obvious brand for him to gravitate to, after all Nike sponsors four of the top 10 in the ATP rankings (Federer, Nadal, Berdych, and Del Potro). I’m sure he’ll be fine, especially after some of slightly horrific outfits that Nole sported – we all know which ones I’m talking about.
- 2021 French Open Wilson Racquets - April 13, 2021
- Slinger Bag and Wilson Tennis Collaboration - March 2, 2021
- Wilson Tennis and Romero Britto - February 22, 2021