Kim Clijsters is a four-time Grand Slam champion, with three of those wins coming after her 2007 retirement and the 2008 birth of her daughter Jada
After retiring for good in 2012, Clijsters settled into post-tennis life by expanding her family and working at her tennis academy in Belgium
After time away from the game Clijsters has returned to tournament play on the WTA Legends tour and was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017
As an ITHF Global Ambassador, Clijsters is also embracing the opportunity to mentor young female players on tour and enjoy the up and coming talent playing on both the WTA and ATP circuits
With the US Open kicking off today, we talked to Clijsters about her work/life balance in retirement, returning to tennis after becoming a mother and the current debate over protected seedings for players after giving birth, and much more
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Whitney McIntosh: Svetlana Kuznetsova recently told a story about visiting your farm and chasing one of your pigs that had escaped
Is it nice being able to have that life on a farm with the kids, having it be very separate from Brian's work or your time playing on the tour every few months? Kim Clisters: When I retired, you know, you have your children and it's all pretty new
The life is new and Brian's work and his kind of career [was new]. He was on tour traveling with me when he wasn't playing basketball anymore, and he started getting his coach's diplomas and everything
It kind of came naturally, life after tennis. It became pretty easy immediately after I stopped playing
I had the children and I enjoyed being home a little bit more and then just like every family you have to find your balance
And the balance shifts at times and you just have to maintain a good balance and that's what we also try to do
Brian is now the head coach of a big Belgian first division team and is away a little bit more so the balance has changed a little bit, but I enjoy it
I was at Wimbledon for two weeks working. I enjoy that balance, and playing Legends
But then again, two weeks I've noticed is long and especially now with the US Open it's the start of the school year and the kids are going to school and so there's always little battles as a woman and a wife and a mother
Jada went on tour with you when you came back, there's of course the pictures after you won the US Open in Times Square
Does she remember anything from being with you, and do the boys understand who you were in tennis or is now just "mom's traveling again for a few weeks"? They don't really understand
Jada doesn't remember much besides photos or videos that she has from back in the day when we showed her little things that we did with her
So she doesn't remember a lot of it. They know when I go to work, like when I go to the French Open or when I go to Wimbledon
But it hasn't happened that much. I think this has been the third or fourth Legends tournament that I've played so I haven't been away that much in the last couple of years
They're used to me being at home and working at the academy throughout the day when they're in school and just being there every day
I pick them up at school and drive them to their hobbies and cook dinner and that's something that I enjoy but I also need the challenges a little bit besides the children
You know, my own goals. I've heard some anecdotes about Jada playing basketball and being quite good
Is it nice, as they grow up, having sports being a unifying thing in the household with you and Brian both being former pro athletes? [Jada] tried tennis as well but you could just see from the start that it did not interest her at all
She wanted to do it, she's the one who asked to play, so I signed her up at the academy
I didn't even hit with her. I just wanted a separate coach to do it, and her to have friends she was playing with
But after watching you could see she wasn't interested. She had good hand-eye coordination, she's strong, she's athletic, but you could see mentally she just didn't like it
Then when she got into basketball — I think she was four or five, when you're allowed to start — she was running around, diving to catch balls
The effort was night and day from tennis. So it was very easy for us to navigate, very clear where her passion or her love lies at the moment and she kind of went that way
Sports are important and I think both Brian and myself know in our upbringing how important it was
Not just to be a great athlete but to have sports as a social part of your life as well
I think maybe more so in tennis. It's a sport that requires discipline, dedication, respect
You learn tennis etiquette as a young girl and it kind of crosses over into your daily life as well
So I think it's important. I enjoy seeing the kids, when we go to dinner at the restaurant at the academy, they run around and they're playing and they hang out together
I think it's the social life that is more important for the kids than results why
Of course we do teach them that they do have to be disciplined and they do have to treat it the right way, but the boys like to play tennis and it's great to have that be a part of our lives
If you give kids enough options to search what they like then I think they will show you where they want to go
And that's been the case with Jada, she's now doing a camp here in New Jersey and she loves it
When you see that the passion is there you can only support that. Probably my favorite part of upbringing is teaching her the things that I dealt with when I was her age
Dealing with pressure a little bit. How do I prepare myself? How do I cool down after four to five days of camp? Teaching them new things or your things, the passion that you had for sports
And it doesn't matter that it was a different sport because at the end of the day the basics are the same
And that's been a lot of fun for us. She's also getting a little bit older, she's ten now and we can have good conversations with her and she understands
Stubborn at times too but she likes to learn and become better. Sometimes being a little stubborn is good
[Laughs] Yeah, yeah for sure. You play in the Legends Draw a few weeks at a time in the Slams, against people like Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Navratilova
How has it been playing with people from different eras in that environment? I love it
I love it. I remember the first time I played was at the French Open. I remember I got paired off with Martina Navratilova and I was like "Wow! This is great
" I think she's the player who's been retired for the longest time I think, or the oldest in the group
But the way that she prepares herself, the way that she trains, the way that she talks about tennis and about things she's passionate about is … I mean not just as a tennis player but as another woman you're able to just learn so much from being around those women who have so much more experience already than you do and I love it
I have to say when I played my first Legends I thought it was very relaxed and easygoing, you know for fun
I get to see a lot of players again, I get to see people who work for the WTA tour, the physios in the locker room
It was nice after four or five years to see a few of them again but then you do realize we have that competitiveness in us and we want to show good tennis
We want to show that we're capable of hitting a good ball. I think maybe we don't move as good as we used to but we're still in it
When you see Navratilova hit her volleys or I played with Nathalie Tauziat at the French Open this year
The way she hits her volleys, the way she's able to come in on her return, it's so amazing and it's still very, very good
Those are unique things that a lot of players these days don't even have anymore and that's nice to see
I enjoy being a part of that. We get good crowds, we're able to entertain the crowds as well and that makes it fun
We go out to dinner at night. There are a couple of organized events throughout the tournament where we all hang out together all the men and women combined, and you're able to talk to each other a little bit more than tennis talk
You talk about more personal, private things and the families and seeing what everybody's up to
It's nice to catch up outside of the competition and the pressure that you're under as an athlete when you're playing big tournaments
Although you were rivals for so many years, there's not a lot of people who understand the life that we had
I realized when I came home, when I stopped playing that there's not a lot of people who can relate to the life that you had
You don't share a lot of the same kind of situations, and it's very extreme at times
There can be a lot of highs but also very low lows, and it's different than a lot of people who have their daily life in an 8 to 5 kind of job
So at times it can be a little challenging to find your way I think, but that's why it's super nice when I'm able to talk to Lindsay Davenport and catch up and see how she's doing and see who's taking care of the kids when she's working for television
Is Lindsay one of the former players you're closest with? Lindsay was the person I called before I decided I was going to go back on tour
I spoke to her and asked her what it was like traveling again with the kids and how the WTA
you know what the rules are and it was just a nice talk. And it was something I will always be grateful for that she took the time to share her situation
When or if the roles would be reversed, if someone wants to talk to me I'm always open to give my opinion or my side of how things worked or which things didn't work for us
I think it's so rare to find somebody who can relate to our situation. Was there anything that was unexpected with how hard it was or anything you would change looking back? When you came back did you go "Oh, that was harder than I expected"? Both Brian and I are pretty laid back parents which I think helps very much
I think if you are a person who wants to be in control all the time with what's going on then it can cause a lot of instability
I've showed up where the rooms didn't turn out the way the reservation was made or the way the hotel booked it then
Jada slept in the bathtub with her crib. Stuff like that. Just making it work. You have to try to make it work and not take it all too seriously
I feel lucky because I think we both come from very well-rounded people and to me nobody needs to treat me differently because I was a tennis player or because I'm famous
That is not at all how we stand in life. But I've seen it completely different, obviously certain players almost demand respect
A lot of times I have a hard time feeling that or being around it and so you have to be open
You have to be able to adjust and sometimes there is frustration about your daughter and about your child
It can be a little bit frustrating but you try to make the best out of it. There's no point in getting stressed about things that aren't really in your control
What I probably didn't expect at times was the emotional side of it all. As a tennis player you only have to worry about yourself
If you're tired you can cancel a practice and you can rest in the hotel, put your feet up or go get a massage
You really just have to listen to yourself. Once there's a child involved it doesn't work like that
We traveled with a nanny but I was still very much involved. I was there when I wasn't practicing
Jada didn't always sleep in our room, especially not at the Grand Slams, but I was there for breakfast
I was there when I could. It's that balance of the guilty feeling that I sometimes had of leaving home to go to practice and they come to an age where I remember her crying at our back door and she was really overdramatizing in a way
For her it was the first time like "mommy is leaving" and it broke my heart, and I felt so guilty as a mother that I was doing that for tennis but that's also because I was a first time mother
If that happened now with our third child I'd react to it completely different. It doesn't impact me as much, doesn't influence me as much as it used to with the first one
You take it very personally, but you learn. My hunger for tennis and my passion was a lot higher than before I had Jada
Because if I didn't have that then why would I try to come back? Why would I put myself through all the hard work and the physical issues? But the passion was there and when that feeling is inside it's tough to get rid of
I didn't tell anybody for a while because I wanted to see if it was something that was a temporary thing because I was able to enjoy playing tennis again and I was getting fitter
But that passion grew stronger and I was kind of able to build on that passion for a few years and have some of my best results in my career
There's a lot of moms on tour right now and it seems like more players are planning to definitely come back after giving birth than 10 years or 20 years ago
Saying "no I'm just going to start a family and keep playing and it's not going to be a big deal
" With that, there's been a lot of conversations about protected rankings and support from the tour when they're traveling with children
Between Victoria Azarenka and her child and Serena Williams and her child and others
Did you feel like the tour could have done more for you, or that there should be some sort of ranking compromise for mothers coming back from maternity leave? I never thought about it until the Serena situation came up
I never thought about it! I was very grateful that I was already given a wild card to enter the US Open
Because, to me, I didn't feel like I deserved that because I didn't want to take that away from other players who earned that spot
I've heard different situations. I know the WTA and the tournaments — the Grand Slams — are trying
To me the most important thing is that they're all on the same page. Serena didn't know if she was going to be seeded at the French Open
Is she going to be seeded at Wimbledon? Wimbledon said yes, the US Open has said yes she's going to, the French Open didn't
Just be all on the same page so it's clear. So that there's one rule. There's already a lot of benefits as a past number one player, as a past Slam champion
Obviously Serena is a different story, I'm not comparing myself to Serena at all results-wise
But when you look at the rules there are already rules that say when you're a past Grand Slam champion, when you're a past number one player, you can request as many Wild Cards as you want
There's already a lot of advantages that other players don't have. But in this situation Serena is Serena, and I also understand that Serena creates a buzz when she gets to the tournament and tournaments, tournament directors, and especially sponsors love to have her there
So I get that to have her in the tournament longer is an option if she's seeded. But [sighs]
I don't know. I know that the WTA is working on it. I've heard situations where I've said "yeah you make a point there
" I've heard people say maybe you start by giving a seeded ranking again after three tournaments
You get a feel for what the results are that she's had at those three tournaments and then create it
I think it's pretty tough to say we're going to put somebody as a seed when they haven't played for a long time and you don't know what they're like
There's pros and cons, they're never going to please everybody and I can only talk from my situation
I never expected to be seeded, I never even thought about it. I know Vika talked about the fact that when she came back nobody ever talked about her being seeded
You try to do your best and you try to play your matches whether you're playing in the third round or the first round
You try to do your best and that's what I tried to do and what Serena's doing but it's not easy
There have been a lot of talks about the situation with mothers coming back, there's a lot of ways you can look at it and I don't have a clear sense
This is my opinion about it. The people who are in charge are trying to create a rule but it's tough because I don't think we're ever going to have another Serena Williams
I agree there. So do we need to make a rule based on that alone? She's seeded already, she's going to be seeded now
She's back in the rankings. Could you see it as one of those conversations where she got the conversation started and it can help people like Vika or [Evgeniya] Rodina who couldn't get the conversation started in that situation? At the end of the day, Vika is playing good tennis again
She's back and it takes time. Especially me, I didn't want freebies. I didn't even want to take my protected ranking when I was injured for a long time, when I had surgery
Everybody's different. That's what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying my opinion is the one that counts because every player is different and I get that the bigger picture is for upcoming players who are mothers
By receiving Wild Cards whenever you want, as many as you want, you get into the tournaments and I believe that you also need to find your way through and show that your tennis is good enough to be back
Obviously Serena is showing that tennis. She played at Wimbledon and getting to the finals her ranking is now Top 30 I think? Back to 27, yes
So she's going to be fine. One of the things that bothered me most is the fact that I hear some of the players who are on the player council talk about the fact that they weren't even put into the conversation when the Slams were thinking about going back from 32 seeds to 16 seeds
That they weren't even brought into the conversation. And that's, you know … That's a huge change! That is a big change
And then what do you do? There are so many rules and changes that benefits some people, that benefits players or benefits tournament directors, sponsors
And you all have to try to make it work and I think that's the same thing with this situation
You have to try to make it work, but I think also of the players who do fight hard to become seeded and maybe one time or two times in their career might be seeded at a Grand Slam and then that maybe gets taken away from that person
So there's a little bit of give and take here and there, you're never going to please everybody
I think it's great that Serena is in the spotlight as a mother and as an athlete, and showing the struggles that she's had and that she's open about it and I think it's great that she's doing that
Shifting a little, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens have both been Slam finalists and they both recently said how much they enjoyed watching you play when they were young
Stephens called you one of her favorite players. What does it mean as a Global Ambassador for the Hall of Fame, as someone who's now entering back into the tennis world from the other side and doing Legends and working at your academy, what does it mean that you meant so much to players at the top of today's tours? I mean it's nice to hear (laughs)
When I retired you do a lot of media and people talk about who who are the young players you like that will do well? Who do you think will break through? And those were actually the two names that I mentioned, I mentioned Sloane and I mentioned Madison
When I was younger we had a Belgian women, Sabine Appelmans, who I admired and I was able to talk to her and she shared some experiences with me in the past about being on tour and traveling to the Australian Open, or traveling and playing Center Court at the US Open
Those are unique moments that we come back to, things not a lot of people can teach you or share with you and when you're able to hear that from somebody who's been there it just goes a lot deeper and further and that's something that I've always remembered
Sloane and Madison are super, super nice women and when I was there at the US Open and I saw them play each other at the Final I was actually sitting with Tracy Austin in the stands and we were both crying our eyes out
The emotional side of it all was so big and I was able to go visit them downstairs in the referees office so just to see them together but in extreme circumstances
Sloane's very happy sharing that win with her team and her mother, and then seeing Madison being sad and probably ultimately disappointed she didn't play her best tennis when she had to and that's when you're able to share moments with them
With Simona Halep as well losing three Grand Slam finals. It took me four times, four Grand Slam Finals before I won my first one
Some people are lucky like an Ostapenko where you play your first Grand Slam Final and you win immediately but unfortunately that doesn't always happen
When you're able to just share an experience it means a lot and the respect for Sloane and Madison is there from my side as well and I enjoy them being out there
I enjoy that they're being themselves which I love. You see their personalities, you see they're trying to be good influencers of our sport and that's something I enjoy seeing too
It's interesting that you bring up Simona Halep because she finally broke through and got her championship and that was incredible
But before that there was some criticism of her mental strength and for other players there have been criticisms of their work ethic, or the way commentators talk about moms returning to tour in some strange ways
Now that you're off the tour and observing from afar, do you think there's anything that could be improved or changed when it comes to analysts commenting on the women's tour? I mean the criticism was also there when I was playing, that's just an opinion of a person and unfortunately at times a lot of people are listening to that
As an athlete you create thick skin because there are people who sometimes are in the spotlight and are doing commentary and they are in that situation and they are entitled to their opinion but at times it can be hurtful
At the same time sometimes they can be true and they can make you become better and that's how I think I always tried to look at it
I've had my frustrations with media and commentary and commentators just because maybe they didn't understand who I was, but that's part of being in the spotlight and you have to learn to deal with it and it takes time
It can be painful, and it can be hard, but as long as you have a good team of people around you who are close to you, that's when you can become better
I always said I never wanted to become a commentator because I didn't feel like I wanted to be like that, but I'm doing it now and I feel that I'm taking a different approach
I understand that tennis players can't always behave perfectly. I understand that there's weeks where you don't feel like practicing, where you don't feel like being out there but in a way you kind of have to
I understand that it's not always as easy as people think where you're in the spotlight and you're playing in all these tournaments and people only see the good side of it all
I don't want to be that negative commentator. But there's always something that you can say about somebody, and again as a commentator you don't always know the personal issues that people are going through
That's something more media members should keep in mind, probably. A lot of people ask me "what are your favorite moments in your career?" You don't just pick the title
You pick the emotional and personal issues that I connect to every Grand Slam that I won
Because there was always something going on behind the scenes. There's hardly ever a perfect kind of situation where you feel like everything is going well at home
Or family members were going through issues or sick. For me every grand slam had something different behind it and personal behind it and a lot of people don't see that
So I don't try to judge. You know we see it on the ATP tour, players sometimes not trying as hard as they should and do I like to see that? No, I don't like to see that but there's a reason why they're being like that or doing that
There's always a reason why, and I always try to know that there's more.
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