By Marc McGowan
Four-time major champion Kim Clijsters hopes fellow former world No.1 Ash Barty’s involvement in Wimbledon’s invitational doubles event will be the spark to bring her out of retirement.
Clijsters revealed in March 2009 – 22 months after retiring from tennis and becoming a mother to her first child, Jada – that she was returning to the tour and targeting that year’s US Open for her grand slam comeback.
Kim Clijsters with her daughter Jada after winning the 2009 US Open title.Credit: Getty Images
Now 41, Clijsters performed well in two lead-in tournaments before beating the likes of Marion Bartoli, Li Na, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki en route to a staggering title triumph in New York.
Barty, 28, retired for a second time in March 2022, two months after ending the country’s 44-year wait for another Australian Open women’s champion, and has repeatedly stated she would not return. She announced the birth of her son, Hayden, in July last year.
But the triple grand slam winner, who is also commentating for the BBC, accepted an invitation to reunite on court this week with Casey Dellacqua at the All England club, the scene of her 2021 Wimbledon victory.
Barty and Dellacqua were due to play their first round-robin match on Tuesday, against Andrea Petkovic and Magdalena Rybarikova, but rain caused it to be postponed.
“To have Ash playing the legends [doubles] with Casey is fun. A few years ago, I was the youngest legend out there, but I’m definitely not any more,” Clijsters said.
“It’s cool, and who knows [what it might lead to]? Last year, seeing Caroline Wozniacki [who made her own comeback post-pregnancy] practice in between our legends matches, we were all like, ‘What are you doing? Why are you practising this much?’.
“There is definitely a part of me that hopes she gets triggered by the challenge and the adventure that it is to come back on tour with a family, but I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about it.”
Clijsters said on Tuesday she, too, never intended to play professionally again, only for her own preparation for the Wimbledon hit-and-giggle event with fellow legends to light the fire for her return.
Ash Barty is commentating for BBC at this year’s Wimbledon championships.Credit: AP
Australia’s former Billie Jean King Cup captain, 2005 Australian Open quarter-finalist Alicia Molik, said there was “no doubt” Barty would have continued racking up major titles if she had kept playing.
Barty’s retirement coincided with Sam Stosur also ending her long association with the game, while experienced stars Ajla Tomljanovic and Daria Saville have spent extended time out injured in the period since, all of which placed a strain on the country’s women’s depth.
There is great hope for the likes of Taylah Preston, Olivia Gadecki, Talia Gibson, Maya Joint and Emerson Jones, but Molik asked for patience.
She likened Wimbledon qualifier Gadecki to former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport.
“We want a revival, but at the same time, we have been pretty blessed with what Ash Barty delivered us,” Molik said.
“If you look back at it, it was all condensed in a three, three-and-a-half-year period, so it’s hard to replicate that immediately. We all want someone to have that same success, but she might be a once-in-a-generation player.
“I’m not quite sure we’ll see anyone with that kind of class, poise, ability to hit her straps quite quickly after returning to the tour, and winning slams – she had an amazing ability as a tennis player.”
Dellacqua was also certain that her long-time doubles partner Barty would still be able to dominate the women’s tour if she ever committed herself to play again.
2021 Wimbledon champion Ash Barty’s priorities have changed since her son Hayden’s arrival.Credit: Getty Images, Instagram
“The Wimbledon dream is embedded in us as kids. For Ash, the Wimbledon win was really special,” Dellacqua said.
“It’s probably the one that she wanted to win the most, and you can see that in terms of how much it meant to her, so I think to be a winner and champion, for Ash, was something that she had always dreamed about ... and the stars aligned that year with it obviously being Evonne [Goolagong Cawley]’s 50th [anniversary of her 1971 Wimbledon win].
“There is no doubt [she could return to the top], if she wanted to, at 28 years of age, put the work in – 100 per cent, absolutely. But you’ve got to put the work in. You have to respect it. But she is really happy.”
Marc McGowan is at Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
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