"I was wiping my tears" – Kim Clijsters opens up on emotional walk with daughter Jada before Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka's US Open 2024 final
Kim Clijsters recently opened up on her emotional moment walking onto the Center Court at Arthur Ashe Stadium with her daughter Jada, before the 2024 US Open women's singles final between Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka.
Clijsters made an appearance on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, where fellow retired US Open Champion Andy Roddick and her talked about her moment on Center Court on Saturday with Jada.
Roddick said,
"People instantly got the connection when they saw the photo and then the two of you walked out there was this moment of appreciation."
Clijsters in response shared that she got teary-eyed before stepping out. She added the support eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula received from the home crowd gave her "chills."
Clijsters said:
"I was already like drying my tears like waiting for the players to come out. When Jessie [Jessica Pegula] got announced on court, it was so loud and I got chills, I was like wiping my tears before I had to go out there.
"I don't know, it’s been so long since… it was just really overwhelming like hearing the crowd supporting Jessie as an American, born in New York. It was really really loud."
Meanwhile, following Clijsters and Jada's return to Flushing Meadows on Saturday with Jada, the official US Open account on X (formerly Twitter) shared the mother-daughter duo's moments on court in 2009 and 2024. The Belgian and her daughter had also famously shared a moment on court following the former's US Open victory in 2009.
The post was captioned,
"Where did the time go?"
Clijsters enjoyed great success as a tennis professional from 1997 to 2022. Early in her career, Clijsters found doubles success as she claimed the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Her first Major trophy on the singles circuit came at the 2005 US Open, where she defeated Mary Pierce in the final.
The Belgian then struggled with a variety of injuries for the following couple of years and announced a surprise retirement in 2007. In 2008, Clijsters and her husband Brian Lynch, who became a basketball coach after playing the sport between 2000-2009, welcomed Jada into their family.
Clijsters returned to the court during the North American hardcourt swing in 2009 and wasted little time doubling her singles Grand Slam tally, taking the US Open championship.
She celebrated the triumph with Jada, who was only a year old at the time, after downing Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
Kim Clijsters - "Jada too was like, 'Mom this is crazy'"
In the same episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Kim Clijsters noted that her daughter Jada, who plays basketball for Belgium's U-16 national team, was taken aback by the reception on Center Court.
"Then Jada too, she was like, 'Mom this is crazy, I can't… tennis players have to be out on court by themselves. Like at least when I play basketball, I can share this with my team and we can laugh and kind of joke and fire each other up but it’s just you out there,'" Clijsters said.
Notably, Clijsters defended her US Open title in 2010 by thumping Vera Zvonareva in the summit clash. A few months later, she took her singles Grand Slam tally to four by overcoming Li Na in the final of the 2011 Australian Open.
In 2012, she decided to walk away from the sport but came back to the New York Major eight years later only to bow out with a loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.