Women’s tennis awaits the comeback of Serena Williams post-motherhood. But, back in the first decade of the 2000s, it was Kim Clijsters who made the most of her second coming to tennis after having a child.

Back at the 2009 US Open, Clijsters became the first women’s player to win a Major as a wild card when she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Over the next two years, Clijsters won two other Majors – starting with a successful defence of her US Open title in 2010 and then winning the Australian Open in 2011 – before exiting the sport for the final time in 2012.

Earlier in June 2017, Kim Clijsters was formally inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, a recognition which she said she wasn’t aware of growing up in her native country of Belgium.

“In Belgium and across Europe, it’s not in our culture to have those types of tributes, so it only struck me just how special it was when I saw the reaction of everybody else,” shared Clijsters, who contributed a heartfelt acknowledgement of tennis’ contribution to her life at the US Open. “I actually got emotional. For me, it’s almost like your childhood and your whole life kind of flashes through your head.”

Summarising tennis as involving dedication, caring, optimism, patience, respect, sacrifice, tolerance and passion, the former world No 1 stressed on three aspects within these eight. “The first is optimism,” the 34-year-old shared. “The second is dedication [and] finally, but most importantly, comes passion,” she added.

Elaborating that her passion for tennis took hold of her life when she was only five-years-old, Clijsters noted that she was now trying to groom younger players towards their passion. “Those three words are so meaningful. I’ve learned them through my upbringing, my experiences, from the many matches I’ve played, the many people I’ve known and met through tennis,” she stated.

A player, who had several fans look up to her, Clijsters was, then, a fan herself. Calling Steffi Graf and Monica Seles her “role models”, Clijsters recounted her experience of playing against Graf in her final Wimbledon appearance in 1999.

“I felt very lucky and very nervous,” reminisced Clijsters, adding, “That was very special for me at such a young age, so early in my career. I was just so excited that I was able to play against Steffi. I remember I didn’t sleep well the night before. I lost that match, but it’s one I’ll always remember because of the opponent and the occasion.”

Memorable as playing against her idol was, it isn’t surprising to know that Clijsters considers her first Major win – at the 2005 US Open – with a tad more nostalgic poignancy. “It just clicked,” she called her euphoric run to the title, which came after four previous defeats in Major finals. In that regard, Clijsters also looked back at herself as a player who relied on her instincts instead of focusing on statistical trivia.

Her instinctual nature, then, look to have held her in good stead – not only when it came to becoming a multiple-time US Open champion upon her return, but also when it came to finally winning the Australian Open.

Alongside her own mental acuity, Clijsters also mentioned the support of her family – her parents, her husband, Brian Lynch [a former American basketball player] and her in-laws – as being just as instrumental in carving out a triumphant career.

Beyond all of these though, there’s one quite important facet that Clijsters about herself wanted to emphasise on. “I try to be a good person and treat everybody the same,” she said.

“That’s all you can do to be a good role model and try to follow in your footsteps someday. It’s now our chance to give back. I am most fortunate that my dreams have come true,” she went on to conclude.