Elke Clijsters

Last updated

Elke Clijsters
Country (sports)Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Residence Bree, Belgium
Born (1985-01-18) 18 January 1985 (age 39)
Bilzen, Belgium
Turned pro2000
Retired2004
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$47,951
Singles
Career record53–54 (49.5%)
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 389 (15 September 2003)
Doubles
Career record52–23 (69.3%)
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 244 (6 October 2003)

Elke Clijsters (born 18 January 1985) is a former professional tennis player from Belgium.

Contents

Career

Elke won the 2002 girls' Wimbledon Championships doubles title with Barbora Strýcová, and the girls' US Open doubles title with compatriot Kirsten Flipkens. [1] [2] Her highest singles ranking was 389, a ranking she achieved on 15 September 2003. She played in the Belgium Fed Cup team in 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing all four matches, of which one was a singles match. In 2004, she reached the finals of two ITF singles tournaments, winning the one in Bournemouth. In the same year, she also reached the finals of two ITF doubles tournaments, of which she also won one. She retired in 2004 due to a persistent back injury. [3]

In 2021, Clijsters participated in the Belgian version of The Bachelorette . [4]

Personal life

Her father was the Belgian football player Lei Clijsters (1956–2009) and her sister is former world No. 1 tennis player, Kim Clijsters (born 1983). Elke married footballer Jelle Van Damme on 31 May 2008 in Bree, Belgium. [5] They had their first child in 2009, a boy. [6] She gave birth to their second child, a girl in November 2010. Their marriage ended in 2016.

ITF Circuit finals

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1.7 April 2003ITF Torre del Greco, ItalyClay Flag of Italy.svg Raffaella Bindi 4–6, 2–6
Loss2.11 August 2003ITF Koksijde, BelgiumClay Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Lenka Snajdrová 4–6, 2–6
Win3.1 May 2004ITF Bournemouth, United KingdomClay Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Melanie South 3–,6 6–1, 6–2
Loss4.8 May 2004ITF Edinburgh, United KingdomClay Flag of Russia.svg Ekaterina Kozhokina 1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 10 (7 titles, 3 runner-ups)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1.21 August 2000ITF Westende, BelgiumClay Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Caroline Maes Flag of the Netherlands.svg Natasha Galouza
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Anouk Sterk
1–6, 0–6
Win2.3 September 2001ITF Pétange, LuxembourgClay Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jaslyn Hewitt Flag of Belarus.svg Natallia Dziamidzenka
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Kika Hogendoorn
6–1, 6–3
Win3.5 August 2002ITF Rebecq, BelgiumClay Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jaslyn Hewitt Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Leslie Butkiewicz
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tessy van de Ven
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win4.3 November 2002ITF Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Flag of Poland.svg Marta Domachowska Flag of Sweden.svg Jenny Loow
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Suzanne van Hartingsveldt
6–1, 6–1
Loss5.21 January 2003ITF Hull, United KingdomHard (i) Flag of Yugoslavia (1992-2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006).svg Borka Majstorović Flag of Russia.svg Irina Bulykina
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Galina Voskoboeva
6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win6.2 February 2003ITF Tipton, United KingdomHard (i) Flag of Romania.svg Liana Ungur Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Zuzana Černá
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Iveta Gerlová
6–3, 6–2
Win7.18 May 2003ITF Casale Monferrato, ItalyClay Flag of New Zealand.svg Leanne Baker Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jolanda Mens
Flag of Germany.svg Stefanie Weis
6–3, 6–4
Win8.11 August 2003ITF Koksijde, BelgiumClay Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Kirsten Flipkens Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Zuzana Černá
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Vladimíra Uhlířová
6–2, 6–4
Loss9.2 March 2004ITF Buchen, GermanyHard (i) Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Caroline Maes Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Lucie Hradecká
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Eva Hrdinová
1–6, 4–6
Win10.29 March 2004ITF Napoli, ItalyClay Flag of Luxembourg.svg Mandy Minella Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michelle Gerards
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Mariëlle Hoogland
6–1, 6–0

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Henin</span> Belgian tennis player

Justine Henin is a Belgian former world No. 1 tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in tennis, helped establish Belgium as a leading force in women's tennis alongside Kim Clijsters, and led the country to its first Fed Cup crown in 2001. She was known for her all-court style of play and for being one of the few female players to use a single-handed backhand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Clijsters</span> Belgian tennis player (born 1983)

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, four in singles and two in doubles.

The 2003 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on Grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. It was the 117th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from 23 June to 6 July 2003. It was the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaëlla Krajicek</span> Dutch tennis player

Michaëlla Krajicek is a Dutch tennis player. She won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one WTA 125 doubles title, and 14 singles and 22 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 11 February 2008, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 30. On 23 March 2015, she peaked at No. 23 in the doubles rankings.

The Belgian women's national tennis team, managed by the Belgian Tennis Federation, has been competing in the International Tennis Federation sanctioned Fed Cup since the very beginning: 1963. It has won the competition once, in 2001. Both Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin won their singles matches to seal the first victory for Belgium against Russia in Madrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirsten Flipkens</span> Belgian tennis player

Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens is a Belgian former professional tennis player and coach. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2012 Tournoi de Québec, as well as seven doubles titles. She also won 13 singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, and one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jelle Van Damme</span> Belgian footballer

Jelle François Maria Van Damme is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back, left-back or left midfielder. He played for clubs in Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. He also earned over 30 caps for the Belgium national team.

Caroline Maes is a former Belgian tennis player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie South</span> English tennis player

Melanie Jayne South is a former English tennis player. She won six singles and 24 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 2 February 2009, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 99. On 9 March 2009, she peaked at No. 120 in the doubles rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 WTA Tour</span> Womens tennis circuit

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup, and the year-end championships. Also included in the 2010 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which does not distribute ranking points and is organized by the ITF.

Eva Dyrberg is a Danish former tennis player. As a junior player, she won 1998 Wimbledon Championships with Jelena Kostanić and 1998 US Open with Kim Clijsters. In 1998, Dyrberg was also ranked World No. 1 in junior doubles and was named ITF Junior Girls Doubles World Champion. During her professional career, she won four singles and five doubles events organized by the International Tennis Federation, defeating players such as Magdalena Maleeva, Tathiana Garbin, Maria Elena Camerin, Nicole Pratt, and reaching one doubles final at WTA Tour, at Sanex Trophy in 2000. She retired from professional tennis after the 2003 Australian Open.

Lisa McShea is an Australian former tennis player. She played professionally from 1996 to 2006. As a junior player, McShea won the 1992 Wimbledon Championships doubles title. She was also more successful in doubles during her professional career, winning four WTA Tour and 56 ITF doubles events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Van Uytvanck</span> Belgian tennis player

Alison Van Uytvanck is a Belgian professional tennis player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 WTA Tour</span> Womens tennis circuit

The 2012 WTA Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2012 tennis season. The 2012 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup, the year-end championships, and the tennis event at the Summer Olympic Games. Also included in the 2012 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which is organized by the ITF and does not distribute ranking points.

Fred Hemmes Jr. is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands and coach of Kim Clijsters from 2020 to 2022. He is the son of Fred Hemmes Sr., a tennis player who competed at Wimbledon.

Cara Black and Irina Selyutina were the defending champions, but both players turned 18 years old during the season and, therefore, were not eligible to compete in Juniors.

Gisela Dulko and Ashley Harkleroad were the defending champions, but they did not compete in the Juniors this year.

Elke Clijsters and Barbora Strýcová were the defending champions, but they did not compete in the Juniors this year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 WTA Tour</span> Womens tennis circuit

The 2022 WTA Tour was the global elite women's professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2022 tennis season. The 2022 WTA Tour calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA 1000 tournaments, the WTA 500 tournaments, the WTA 250 tournaments, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the year-end championships.

Sofia Costoulas is a Belgian tennis player.

References

  1. "2002 Wimbledon Wrapup and Analysis". About.com . 10 July 2002. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. Fayat, Serge (10 September 2002). "US Open - Elke Clijsters et Flipkens". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. Belga (15 June 2004). "Elke Clijsters met fin à sa carrière". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. Callens, Florian (5 May 2021). "'De Bachelorette': Kim Clijsters geeft zus Elke laatste raad voor beslissende roosceremonie". Newsmonkey (in Flemish). Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. "Elke en Jelle in alle stilte getrouwd". Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 2 June 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. "Zoontje voor Jelle Van Damme en Elke Clijsters". De Standaard (in Dutch). 13 October 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.