Former world number one Kim Clijsters has officially ended her magnificent tennis career after losing her mixed doubles match with Bob Bryan at the 2012 US Open Tennis Championships. The Belgian, winner of four Grand Slam singles titles, had embarked on her second professional tennis career after coming back to the game in 2009 after a two-hiatus on the game. The return paid off as she added three more Grand Slam titles from her lone 2005 US Open title. She went on to win the 2009 and 2010 US Open and the 2011 Australian Open.

“My first career was 10 years. It was an intense ride. Emotionally hard at times, dealing with some of the big losses, but having my first Grand Slam win here was a dream come true. Maybe then I felt like I had achieved everything in tennis I wanted to achieve – I was No.1, I won a Slam, it was a long career,” Clijsters was quoted as saying.

She was motivated to make a comeback so that she can compete at the 2012 London Olympics. However, her run at the quadrennial event was a short one.

“I started practicing for the opening of the new roof at Wimbledon and gradually I started to feel like tennis was helping me get rid of emotions and have a focus. I was able to let a lot of energy out. After my dad passed away it was the perfect release for me, to deal with a lot of things, think about life, and once in a while just smack the ball as hard as you can to get a lot of the frustration out,” she said.

Her exit in the sport has been met with sad reactions from her peers. Clijsters has always been highly regarded due to her personality on and off courts.