Kim Clijsters: Strange twist following Star's Victory

Kim Clijsters got some nice parting gifts for winning the U.S. Open: a check for $2.2 million, a nice, shiny trophy, a hug from her daughter and a two-spot drop in the rankings.

Yeah, you read that correctly. After winning the biggest event in the sport, Clijsters slipped from No. 3 to No. 5 in the WTA rankings. Here's how it went down:

Clijsters earned 2,000 rankings points for winning this year's tournament, but it had no net effect on her old ranking because she was defending 2,000 points via her win in '09. No matter what she did in New York, she couldn't earn any more points.

Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams could though. Both players were bounced in the fourth round of last year's tournament and earned 280 points in the WTA rankings as a result. This year Venus made the semifinals and Vera advanced to the finals, gaining 620 and 1,120 points, respectively. This enabled both players to catapult past Clijsters.

The lesson to be learned here is the same as always: Rankings don't mean a thing.

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Kim Clijsters Tennis Star

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (Dutch pronunciation: [kɪm ˈklɛistərs] ( listen); born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 ranked player in singles and in doubles. As of June 21, 2010, Clijsters is ranked World No. 8.

Clijsters has won 37 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She won the US Open singles title in 2005 and 2009. She has also won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002 and 2003. In doubles, she's won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters was twice a singles runner-up at the French Open and a one-time runner-up at the Australian Open, also reaching two Wimbledon singles semi-finals. She announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007,[1] but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season.[2] In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unranked player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters Tennis Star

TORONTO — Former world No. 1 player Kim Clijsters was one of three players awarded wild cards Wednesday into the main draw of the Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament.
Clijsters, the 2005 Rogers Cup champion, returned to action this week in Cincinnati after a two-year absence following marriage and the birth of her first child. Clijsters spent 19 weeks at No. 1 in the world rankings in 2003.
“So many things have changed. I got married, had a daughter, and that’s something that has a big impact on my life,” Clijsters said in a statement. “It will change me as a player as well. I’ve been practicing for seven months and I’m looking forward to my second career.”
Clijsters advanced to the third round in Cincinnati on Wednesday with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Patty Schnyder.
Stephanie Dubois and Valerie Tetreault were also awarded wild cards for the main draw, which begins Monday. Dubois will be making her eighth Rogers Cup appearance.

Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters