Former world women's tennis number one Kim Clijsters announced Thursday her return to the WTA circuit after two years of retirement, Belgian media reported.
"My hunger has come back through training," the 25-year-old Belgian told journalists in the north-eastern Belgian town of Bree, Belgian broadcaster VRT reported.
Clijsters, crowned world number one in August 2003 and winner of the US Open in 2005, retired from the professional game in May 2007 to marry and raise a child, Jada, now 13 months old.
But a recent invitation to play in the inaugurating game of the new Center Court in Wimbledon alongside former champions Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi and Britain's former number one Tim Henman was enough to lure her into the game.
"It all started with the Wimbledon invitation. To play there against Steffi Graf is a great honor: I started training hard to be on top form," she said according to the Belga news agency.
Clijsters, who was ranked fourth in the world when she quit the game, is now planning to play in tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, and the US Open itself.
"We will evaluate things after the US Open. I'm married and a mother. I'm re-starting tennis for pleasure," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)
