During her professional career, Clijsters won 34 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She won the U.S. Open singles title in 2005 and the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002 and 2003. In doubles, she won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters was twice a singles runner-up at the French Open and a one-time runner-up at the Australian Open, also reaching two Wimbledon singles semifinals. She announced her retirement with immediate effect on May 6, 2007.
Clijsters, known as Aussie Kim, Kim Kong, Killing Kim, or Kim Possible [citation needed] to many fans, is recognized for her deep, powerful, well-placed groundstrokes, as well as her court-wide defense, characterized by speed and athleticism. Clijsters, along with Svetlana Kuznetsova, is among the few tennis players on either the ATP or WTA tours who can slide (known as the straddle) on all surfaces. After being defeated by Clijsters in the U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova said that Clijsters's strength lies in how she always forces her opponent to "hit that extra shot."
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