Kim Clijsters Net Worth

What is Kim Clijsters's Net Worth?

Kim Clijsters is a Belgian former professional tennis player who has a net worth of $20 million. Kim Clijsters played on the WTA Tour between 1999 and 2022. She won a total of 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles during her career, including four singles majors and two doubles majors. In 2003, Clijsters was ranked world No. 1 in both women's singles and women's doubles.

Career Earnings

Kim Clijsters amassed a total of $24,545,194 in career prize money during her professional tennis career, placing her among the top 20 all-time WTA earners. Notably, in 2005, Clijsters secured a then-record $2.2 million prize at the US Open, the largest single payout in women's sports at that time.

Endorsements

Kim Clijsters built an impressive portfolio of endorsements during her tennis career, partnering with brands that aligned with her personal values and professional image. She had a long-running apparel deal with Fila and used Babolat racquets, specifically the Pure Drive model, throughout much of her career. Clijsters also served as a brand ambassador for Citizen Watches and promoted products like Chiquita bananas and AA Drink. She partnered with companies such as USANA Health Sciences, Telenet, Adecco, and Thomas Cook Group, broadening her endorsement reach both internationally and in her home country of Belgium. Notably selective about her partnerships, Clijsters turned down offers that conflicted with her values, famously declining a Nutella endorsement because she didn't want to promote unhealthy products to children.

Early Life

Kim Clijsters was born on June 8, 1983 in Bilzen, Belgium to athletes Els and Lei. Her mother was a national champion in artistic gymnastics, and her father was a footballer who played for a number of Belgian Pro League teams, as well as for the national team. With her younger sister Elke, who became a professional tennis player like she did, Clijsters grew up in Bree, Belgium. Both girls began playing tennis as young children, and trained under Benny Vanhoudt in Diest. Clijsters also worked with coaches Carl Maes and Wim Fissette.

Junior Career

Clijsters had immediate success as a junior tennis player. In 1993, she won the doubles event in the 12-and-under division of the Belgian Junior Championships with partner and future rival Justine Henin. The following year, she won the 12-and-under singles event at the tournament. With Henin, Clijsters went on to win the doubles event in the 14-and-under division at the European Junior Championships in 1996. The same year, with the addition of Leslie Butkiewicz, she won the 14-and-under division at the European Junior Team Championships. Clijsters won her first major international title at Les Petits As. On the ITF Junior Circuit, she claimed her first title in late 1997 at the Orange Bowl, where she won the doubles event with Zsófia Gubacsi. The next year, Clijsters won two junior Grand Slam doubles titles: the French Open and the US Open.

ITF Women's Circuit

Clijsters began playing on the ITF Women's Circuit in 1997. She won her first career professional titles in the summer of 1998, winning both the singles and doubles events in Brussels. Clijsters won four more titles over the next year.

WTA Tour, 1999-2007

Clijsters made her debut on the WTA Tour in the spring of 1999, at the Flanders Women's Open. She made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Clijsters went on to make her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, followed by an appearance at the US Open. She won her first WTA Tour title in just her fourth career WTA event, at the Luxembourg Open. Clijsters subsequently won the doubles event in Bratislava with Laurence Courtois. In 2000, she claimed titles at the Tasmanian International and the Sparkassen Cup. Clijsters had a big year in 2001, marked by a dramatic finals appearances at the French Open and a doubles final appearance at Wimbledon. With three singles titles that year, she reached number five in the WTA rankings. In 2002, Clijsters won three more titles and made it to the final of the WTA Tour Championships. In the final, she upset Serena Williams to win the championship.

Clijsters had her best career year yet in 2003, reaching 15 singles finals and winning nine singles titles. She also won major doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, with partner Ai Sugiyama. Clijsters posted a season record of 90-12, making her the first player to achieve 90 wins in a season since Martina Navratilova in 1982. In the midst of her incredible year, she rose to the rank of world No. 1 in both singles and doubles. Clijsters finished the 2003 season defending her singles title at the WTA Tour Championships. She had a less prodigious season in 2004 due to injuries, but made it to the final of the Australian Open. Clijsters came back in fine form in 2005, winning the Sunshine Double in March and later her first Grand Slam singles title, at the US Open. With a tour-best nine titles, she finished the year ranked world No. 2 and was named WTA Player of the Year.

Despite her great success, Clijsters announced in the summer of 2005 her intention to retire in 2007, due to her many troubles with injuries. She went on to struggle mightily with injury issues during the 2006 season, reducing her to just 14 tournament appearances. After winning her fourth  career Stanford Classic that summer, Clijsters injured her wrist at the Canadian Open and was unable to play again until late October. Upon her return, she won her second consecutive Hasselt Cup. At the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, Clijsters made it to the semifinals. For her planned final season in 2007, she played in just five tournaments due to continued problems with injuries, with her only title of the year coming at the Sydney International. A few days after her loss in Warsaw, Clijsters announced an early retirement, dropping her plans to finish the season.

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WTA Tour Comebacks

Following two years of retirement, during which she got married and played in some exhibition matches, Clijsters returned to the WTA Tour in 2009. Despite playing in few tournaments that year, she had an impressive comeback, winning her second career US Open. Because she had no ranking at the time, Clijsters became the first unseeded woman ever to win the event. At the end of the season, she won her second WTA Comeback Player of the Year honor. Clijsters continued her success in 2010, winning the Brisbane International, Miami Open, and Cincinnati Open before defending her US Open title. She concluded the season by winning her third WTA Tour Championships title and being named WTA Player of the Year. Clijsters went on to win the Australian Open in 2011, her fourth Grand Slam singles title and, ultimately, the final title of her career. After that, she struggled with injuries that persisted into the 2012 season, resulting in her second retirement. Clijsters later returned to professional tennis from 2020 to 2022, but played in few matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Belgian National Team

Clijsters played for the Belgian women's national tennis team on numerous occasions, making her Fed Cup debut in 2000. The year after that, she helped Belgium win its first-ever Fed Cup title. Clijsters went on to play for Belgium in the Fed Cup in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011. She also represented Belgium in the Hopman Cup from 2001 to 2004 and at the Olympics in 2012.

Personal Life

From 2000 to 2004, Clijsters was in a relationship with Australian professional tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, with whom she partnered in the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. They were engaged before they ended their relationship.

Early in her first retirement, in 2007, Clijsters married professional basketball player Brian Lynch. They had their first child, daughter Jada, in early 2008. The couple subsequently had a son named Jack in 2013 and another son, Blake, in 2016. They divide their time living in Belgium and Wall Township, New Jersey.

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