It's day #2 of not much tennis to talk about, so we're going to talk about something that's been in the news but I've thus far neglected to mention (I think) - the potential comeback of Kim Clijsters.
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The reason I haven't talked about it at all thus far is because, personally, I thought it was rubbish. Ha! thought I. She's only training for the Wimbledon exhibition with Henman and Agassi and Graf. But now it's becoming more and more likely that I'm wrong. I hear rumours of a press conference today. So... maybe Kim is coming back.
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Whether or not she is, let's assume for a moment that she is coming back. What effect would that have on the WTA? Would there be any effect?
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I think what I fear is that Clijsters will come back and shoot straight in the top #5 in a matter of months. Not that there would be anything wrong with that from a Clijsters perspective, but it would really put the nail in the coffin as far as the current WTA high rollers are concerned. I don't think Serena would be too worried - I don't know if Serena gets too worried about anyone - but if Clijsters came back and immediately started picking off your Safinas and Dementievas and even your out of form Jankovics and Ivanovics... then there's really trouble.
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This could work a couple of ways. It could depress everyone or it could encourage them to play better. I really hope it's the later. Clijsters would be a really interesting element in a currently lacklustre WTA. Hingis and Davenport both tried the comeback, with limited success. What can Kim do?
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2 comments:
Hi, Jodi! Kim can do a comeback, easy. I think the issue with Davenport was fitness and she'll always struggle with it. Martina was burned out and never had the power to come back and challenge the top players consistently. But Kim was always fit, and I always thought she had more to achieve in tennis. It is a bad sign, though, that she could easily jump into the top 20 in a matter of months. But that's women's tennis right now. Sort of lame.
I wouldn't view Kimmy's comeback as a threat for the other top women players.
If she's able to perform at her best level, like 2 or 3 years ago, it's going to be very healthy for the WTA tournaments.
Kimmy is just 25 yo and with her baby girl growing up fast, I believe she's more ready and stable now to make an impact return.
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