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Excuse the fangirlly moment...
...but sweetness just happened in my favorite sport:
KIM CLIJSTERS, 2009 US OPEN CHAMPION
Maybe you heard the brouhaha over the end of her semifinal match (when Serena Williams was granted a point penalty on match point because of unsportsmanlike conduct, thus losing the match in quite possibly the most bizarre, dramatic way ever), but this is a huge story, in and of itself.
Kim Clijsters retired from professional tennis two years ago, sick of the grind of the tour, ready to start her family and move beyond the ups and downs of her career. She decided to come back to the women's tour this year, having a trial run in the summer to see how she stacked up against the rest of the girls...and she walks away a Slam champion, the first mother to win a Slam since 1980. She walked into the tournament unseeded (unranked, even), needing a wildcard to even qualify for the draw, and she leaves $1.6m richer, and with a spot in the Top 20.
Just - amazing. Congats, Kimeke, and welcome back!!
Maybe you heard the brouhaha over the end of her semifinal match (when Serena Williams was granted a point penalty on match point because of unsportsmanlike conduct, thus losing the match in quite possibly the most bizarre, dramatic way ever), but this is a huge story, in and of itself.
Kim Clijsters retired from professional tennis two years ago, sick of the grind of the tour, ready to start her family and move beyond the ups and downs of her career. She decided to come back to the women's tour this year, having a trial run in the summer to see how she stacked up against the rest of the girls...and she walks away a Slam champion, the first mother to win a Slam since 1980. She walked into the tournament unseeded (unranked, even), needing a wildcard to even qualify for the draw, and she leaves $1.6m richer, and with a spot in the Top 20.
Just - amazing. Congats, Kimeke, and welcome back!!
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She retired in 2007 when she became pregnant with her daughter, and I, for one, thought she'd never look back. But here she is, and WOW, is she ever back!! She hadn't even played enough tourneys to get a ranking, and she manages this? The way she kept her composure, especially, makes me hope she can continue to play so well and get those big championship titles she missed out on the first time around.
Sometimes, motherhood just totally changes your perspective :)
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Kim is amazing - its a true feel-good story all the way around. You couldn't meet a nicer person, on and off the court :)
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is superawesomecoolness!
Kudos and much luck to her, I
am impressed.
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So cute.
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I wonder if we still don't treat men and women differently. People used to live for blowups like this from McEnroe. (Though Arthur Ashe was mortified when both Jimmy Connors and McEnroe were disqualified from the same Davis Cup for this type of behavior.)
I guess I never even paid attention to Clijsters. Yay for her. A great story and a cute kid.
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I think she's gone for good from the game - just had her second kid, and spent this year's US Open in LA doing the wrap show for The Tennis Channel. She looks fabulous, though, if that's any consolation :P
I wonder if we still don't treat men and women differently. People used to live for blowups like this from McEnroe. (Though Arthur Ashe was mortified when both Jimmy Connors and McEnroe were disqualified from the same Davis Cup for this type of behavior.)
Serena's fatal mistake was directing her aggression at the linesperson AND for physically threatening her. Conners, Mac, and all the other hotheads on tour have always done their bitching in the right way (hell, even Federer got into it tonight) - they scream at the chair umpire, and they generally watch their language. If any of them ever threatened an oncourt official, I'm sure they would've received the same punishment.
If she had just turned around and served the damn ball after her first tirade, I'm guessing none of it would've ever happened - but no, as if screaming and threatening the first time around wasn't bad enough, she went back for more after the linesperson reported her threats to the chair (which - that was just doing her job, as the chair called her over to ask her about the confrontation).
I guess I never even paid attention to Clijsters.
She was the choker of her generation, taking five trips and four humiliating losses to finally break through in Slam singles, but she's always been one of the most beloved, by fans, friends, and foes alike. It's really nice to have her back on Tour, amongst all the headcase Russians and fading but always dramatic Americans...
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LOL... Because my mind works this way... will they now report/make a big deal out of how many professional tennis fathers make it back to the court and win after having a baby? I can't see most guys missing an opportunity for any kind of recognition. (Bad brain... bad!)
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LOL! Well, its actually far more common for fathers to play on the ATP tour than mothers on the WTA. Plenty of fathers have 'come back' (not that they really take the time off to, you know, have the kid or get their body back or anything :P) and have plenty of success - just look at Agassi, for example (who won Slams after fatherhood) or just your run-of-the-mill types, like Hewitt or Henman or Kafelnikov.
I'm sure if Federer had won the men's title yesterday, there would've been a big splash (his wife had their twin daughters in July) about parents triumphing on both sides, but generally - no, its not as big a deal for the men as it is the women. The announcers and media don't generally mention fatherhood in their bios of the players; if you wanna know who has kids (and get to see them!) you have to get a bit deeper into the fan culture. Tennis is a wonderfully open, vibrant sport, with accessible athletes :)