A Chance to Say Goodbye
Kim Clijsters has announced her immediate retirement and will not compete at Wimbledon as originally planned. In her statement, Clijsters cited her constant struggle with injuries, how tough it was simply to prepare for practice every day and her strong desire to move on in life with her upcoming marriage to Brian Lynch. Tennis will definitely miss Clijsters on Tour and it is yet another female star who has officially retired, e.g. Lindsay Davenport, or otherwise disappeared from the
Tour due to injuries, e.g. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati, without their legions of fans around the globe having a chance to say a fitting goodbye. It’s a shame for both the players and for the fans. It was difficult and very painful at times for Andre Agassi to finish off his final season on Tour, but fortunately it offered fans a final glimpse and a few more cheers. One hopes that all these players will remain involved in the sport of tennis after they hang up their rackets, but it’s unclear right now how/if that may be the case. At some point in a few years, all of these superstars will find their places in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but there also needs to be another goodbye… sooner and more accessible to their legions of fans around the globe. Perhaps a series of exhibition matches and gala parties benefiting charities that the players support might be an option?
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