Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters IPA {{IPA|/k?m kl?ist?rs/}} {{Audio|Nl-be kim clijsters.ogg|listen}} , (born on June 8, 1983, Bilzen, Belgium) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Belgium. She achieved that ranking on 11 august, 2003 but subsequently lost it to fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne.

Family life

She is the daughter of a succesful soccer player, Lei Clijsters and a Belgian gymnastics champion, Els Vandecaetsbeek.

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She announced her engagement to long-time partner Australian player Lleyton Hewitt in November 2003, but they split up in October 2004. Her current boyfriend, the 27-year old American Brian Lynch, is a professional basketball player with the team of Clijsters' home town Bree.

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She also has a younger sister named Elke, who like her sister was an accomplished junior player, and who finished 2002 as the ITF World Junior Doubles champion, but back injuries forced Elke to retire from her professional tennis career in 2004.

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