A fond farewell to Belgian Kim Clijsters, who announced her immediate retirement today. She'll be missed on the WTA tour, without doubt, but she has already been missed for some time. Clijsters is so good, and had so much fun on the court that I'd label her career's end premature. I'd go a step further and label her injuries as a direct result of the busy tour calendar. Now, the powers that be have finally decided to address it, but the writing, the damages, are already on the wall. About five years ago, it seemed the womens tour could go nowhere but up, with deep draws and personalities and rivalries. Now, we have players at home, alternately icing and heating an inflamed knee.
As bad as it'll be to see Kim go, it's a lot better than her withdrawing from events. I say, if you're going to go, just go. And to her credit, she did it right. At least she didn't go the route of Greg Rusedski, waiting about ten years until he could win a match to retire. Dude, I could've sworn you were already retired. And unlike Kim, who'll retire with many honors (former world #1, former doubles #1, Grand Slam winner) we'll remember Greg as the guy who always put his foot in his mouth.
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