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Clijsters tips Williams to play again after pregnancy

STUTTGART — There are few people better placed than Kim Clijsters to talk about making a successful comeback to playing after childbirth.

STUTTGART — There are few people better placed than Kim Clijsters to talk about making a successful comeback to playing after childbirth.

In 2009, the former world No 1 won her second Grand Slam title at the United States Open, just 18 months after giving birth. She went on to win two more Majors, and reclaimed the No 1 spot, before hanging up her racket again in 2012.

With news of Serena Williams’ pregnancy hitting the circuit, Clijsters has backed the American tennis ace to make a successful return to professional tennis next year.

“She was in great shape before she got pregnant, so I think when you are in this shape, it’s easier to get back,” the 33-year-old Belgian said at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals Singapore ticket launch yesterday at the Porsche Arena. “Of course, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to get back to playing. At the end of the day, pregnancy has a big impact on your body as well as mindset.”

Regarded as one of the world’s greatest athletes, Williams confirmed last week that she is expecting her first child with fiance Alexis Ohanian later this year. The 35-year-old, who has 23 Grand Slam titles under her belt, will sit out the 2017 season, but she is aiming for a comeback next year.

While Williams will be 36 then, Clijsters — who was 26 when she won in New York — believes that she will be able to do it if she can find a proper balance between career and family.

She added: “I’d probably think (the difficulty is) more of mentally; physically, any player who has … played tennis or sport at the highest level, they know what they have to do to be as fit as they were.

“It’s the mental part that gives you the extra drive … When I was a player without kids, it was a very selfish lifestyle, everything is based around what’s best for you, but when you travel with a kid, it doesn’t work like that.”

Clijsters also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Maria Sharapova’s return to the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The Russian will play in the first round against Roberta Vinci today, courtesy of a wildcard from the organisers in her first competitive outing after her 15-month doping ban.

“Having been on both sides of the spectrum, I think it’s up to the tournament whether they want to give a wildcard or not,” she said.

“She’s done her punishment … I don’t think she needs to be punished more.

“Maria Sharapova is still Maria Sharapova, she has all the Grand Slams she has won, she’s still the name, I assume, for sponsors and spectators … I am interested to see how she will do tomorrow night.”

Clijsters was “honoured” to be named as the WTA Finals’ new Legend ambassador at the launch and is looking forward to visiting Singapore for the first time.

“I am really excited to be part of the event,” said the three-time WTA Finals winner. “It seems the fans in Singapore are a lot of fun so I am looking forward to meeting them and visiting the beautiful city.”

While there are no changes to the format or schedule this year, WTA CEO Steve Simon remains confident that the fourth Singapore edition of the tournament will be “very exciting”.

“It’s been three terrific years and I expect that the fourth year will be even better,” he said. “We work very hard with our partners… to do everything better; it’s about improving and the pursuit of excellence, and getting better every day.”

Reports surfaced earlier this month that the WTA Finals would be looking for a new home when their current deal with Singapore expires in 2018, but Simon was non-committal about the tournament’s future.

He had confirmed previously that Manchester was one of the possible venues, but did not rule out the possibility of Singapore retaining the rights.

“We are looking for the future for 2019 and beyond… we’ve certainly had great discussions with Singapore, and it is certainly an option for the future as well,” he said.

“We’ve had a great experience there, but we also will see what other opportunities might be in the marketplace for us as well.”

Visit www.wtafinals.com for details on public ticket sales for the 2017 WTA Finals Singapore.

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