Sheila of the Week

Sticking with the tennis theme we salute Kim Clijsters who this week won the US Open after two years out of the game.

During that time she mourned the passing of her father, got married and welcomed her first child, all of which makes what she did this week all the more remarkable. But then that’s the story of her career really. Her Grand Slam win this week was the first by an unseeded, unranked player ever. She’s also the first Mum to win a Grand Slam since 1980 too, but then she’s used to being the first to do things in the tennis world.

In 2003 Clijsters became not only the first Belgian - man or woman - to be ranked World No. 1, but also did so without winning a Grand Slam tournament. Clijsters is one of only five women to have been ranked World No. 1 in singles and doubles simultaneously. Her singles win total that year was the highest single-season total by any woman since Navratilova in 1982. She was also the first woman to play more than 100 singles matches in a year since Chris Evert in 1974.

In 2005 her victory in the US Open Series and the subsequent US Open meant she collected US$2.2 million in prize money, the largest single purse ever won by a female athlete.

In the season 2005 to 2006 Clijsters broke a rankings record returning to the World No. 1 ranking. She was ranked as low as World No. 134 in March 2005, so her return to the top spot in a ten-month span was the fastest and biggest leap in women's tennis history.

Clijsters is one of the most recognisable tennis players on the women’s tour, but not for the reasons we normally associate with top tennis players; She doesn’t have the long ground to bum legs of Sharapova, the smoldering looks of Ivanovic or the massive gun show that is the Williams sisters, but her style of play and positive attitude towards the game make her a stand out.

Her father was a professional footballer and Clijsters seems to have inherited his determination and his legs, as she has often remarked. She is one of a few players who can slide through a shot on any surface and her tenacity across the court means she is more likely to return the ball more than any other opponent.

But it’s not just the fact that she’s a fit MILF that we appreciate Kim. She also dated annoying Aussie Lleyton ‘C’mon’ Hewitt for a year and seeing that guy naked is deserved of a medal we reckon. One thing is for sure; you can bet that in that particular match it was Hewitt who always came first, he just has that look about him.

So big ups to Kimmie C, who this week proved that Mums really can do anything.