Kim Clijsters Injury: Belgian Tennis Star Will Skip French Open to Focus on Wimbledon, Olympics

Former world No. 1 women’s tennis player Kim Clijsters has announced she will miss the French Open to focus on getting fit for Wimbledon and the Olympics this summer.

Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam champion, revealed via her website that her recovery process is going much slower than expected after tearing a hip muscle during the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida last month.

“My current physical condition doesn’t allow me to get in optimal shape for Roland Garros,” the 28-year-old Belgian said in the statement. “It’s such a pity not to be able to play a last claycourt season.”

ESPN writes that Clijsters, who plans to retire from professional tennis at the end of the season, has been plagued by countless injuries over the course of her career and decided not to risk aggravating her hip problem by playing on the punishing slow surface.

The tennis ace added that she planned to resume full training in three weeks and be back on the courts at the Wimbledon warm-up event in Den Bosch.

“I cannot wait, however, to begin a long period of preparation for the grass season, with Wimbledon and the Olympic Games my principal objectives.”

Over the course of her career as a professional tennis player, Kim Clijsters has won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles with an overall record of 513-124.

In addition to her four Grand Slam singles titles — three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009, and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011 — Clijsters has also won the WTA Tour Championships singles title three times (2002,2003,2010) and won both the French Open and Wimbledon doubles titles in 2003.

via ESPN