225-499: Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters ( Dutch pronunciation: [kɪm ˈklɛistərs] ; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles , having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, four in singles and two in doubles. Clijsters competed professionally from 1997 in an era in which her primary rivals were compatriot Justine Henin and Serena Williams . Coming from
450-536: A felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation , and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz). Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in
675-409: A racket and balls. The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut . Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of
900-527: A 24–4 record in Fed Cup, split across 21–3 in singles and 3–1 in doubles. Clijsters participated in the Hopman Cup from 2001 to 2004, partnering with Olivier Rochus in the first instance and Xavier Malisse thereafter. The tournament consists of eight teams, each with one female and one male player from the same country. The teams are divided into two round robin groups, the winners of which compete for
1125-678: A Belgian selection and a Dutch team made up of players from third-level sides led by ex-footballer Cees van Hasselt contested the Coupe Vanden Abeele . Naturally, the hosts had little trouble claiming the cup, defeating the Netherlands by 8–0. Belgium then beat the Netherlands in all three follow-up matches; FIFA does not recognize these results because Belgium fielded some English players, such as Herbert Potts , who scored 12 of "Belgium's" 17 goals. On 1 May 1904,
1350-525: A Belgian sporting event occurred on 3 May 1931, when journalist Gust De Muynck commentated on the football match between Belgium and the Netherlands on radio. Later, football broadcasts were also televised. As 60 per cent of Belgians speak Dutch and 40 per cent French, commentaries for the national team matches are provided in both languages. The matches are not broadcast in German—Belgium's third official language. During Belgium's tournament appearances in
1575-542: A best-of-five, wins the match. Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches . In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase " Game, set, match " followed by the winning person's or team's name. A game point occurs in tennis whenever
1800-596: A break at 4–3 in the third set, the chair umpire incorrectly overruled a line call on break point that would have leveled the match. Henin ended up winning the game and the match. Clijsters said afterwards, "I'm just as disappointed as after the last two grand slam [finals], but I played a lot better this time". In February, she won her next two tournaments, including the Diamond Games in Antwerp for her first WTA title in her home country. After Clijsters withdrew from
2025-478: A coach). She gave birth to a daughter in early 2008, less than two months after her father Leo Clijsters was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her father died in January 2009, aged 52. Clijsters said, "The birth of Jada was the best moment of my life, but it also taught me a lesson because we knew that my Dad was terminally ill. I realised that new life had been born, but a few months later another life would disappear. It
2250-464: A country with limited success in men's or women's tennis, Clijsters became the first Belgian player to attain the No. 1 ranking. Together with Henin, she established Belgium as a leading force in women's tennis as the two of them led their country to their first Fed Cup crown in 2001 and were the top two players in the world in late 2003. Individually, Clijsters won 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on
2475-557: A doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking
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#17327798690542700-477: A first tifo banner, sized 10.5 by 11.5 metres (34 by 38 ft) depicting a devil in the national colours. The presence of many Belgian players in top leagues abroad, such as the Premier League , and promising results under Marc Wilmots, increased fans' enthusiasm and belief in a successful World Cup campaign. Because of this popularity peak, two Belgian monuments were decorated in national colours for
2925-671: A four-match winning streak. Belgium qualified for UEFA Euro 2016 with a match to spare in October 2015, and took the top spot in the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in November 2015, to stay first for five months. In the following year, Belgium could not confirm their role as outsider at the European Championship with a quarter-finals elimination by the 26th FIFA-ranked Welsh team . This prompted
3150-724: A game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota , which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham , England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa . This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for the first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for
3375-571: A group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen . Players turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to
3600-485: A knee injury she suffered in one of her singles rubbers and needed to retire down 2–0 in the third set. Clijsters also played on the Belgium Fed Cup team from 2002 to 2005, and 2010–11 after she returned from retirement. The team's best results in those years were two semifinal appearances in 2003 and 2011 . Clijsters missed the ties in which Belgium was eliminated in both instances. Overall, Clijsters compiled
3825-576: A little bit, is those two double faults [to start the game at 5–4]. I could feel that she was really trying to step it up, and that she was hitting the balls a lot more aggressive and had almost no unforced errors at the end." Williams won the title to complete her "Serena Slam". After losing in the final at her next two tournaments, Clijsters recovered at the Indian Wells Open to win her first Tier I title. Like in Sydney, she defeated Davenport in
4050-442: A match at the 1998 World Cup, Georges Leekens chose a 4–3–3 arrangement for Belgium's second and third group matches. Robert Waseige, Belgium coach around 2000, said that "above all, [his] 4–4–2 system [was] holy", in the sense that he left good attackers on the bench to keep his favourite formation. Wilmots opted for the 4–3–3 line-up again, with the intention of showing dominant football against any country. On 8 November 2024,
4275-399: A particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy , although there was also suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France , who had a court set up at
4500-562: A player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point . Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users . The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages . The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham , England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis . It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to
4725-469: A player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye . Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for the sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open , played on hardcourts ;
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#17327798690544950-494: A sad note. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar , Belgium were drawn into Group F alongside Croatia , Morocco and Canada . Despite starting their campaign well with a 1–0 victory over Canada, they then suffered a shock 2–0 defeat to Morocco, and following a 0–0 draw with Croatia in their final group game, Belgium were knocked out of the tournament at the group stages for the first time since 1998 . Following their elimination from
5175-540: A score of 9–7 in the third set, her teammates were able to secure the tie. She won her other two matches against Nathalie Tauziat of France and Anna Kournikova of Russia, both of which were crucial as Belgium won each of those ties 2–1 as well to win the group. In the semifinals, Henin returned to the team as they faced the United States, the hosts for the final rounds. After Henin lost to Monica Seles , Clijsters needed to defeat Lindsay Davenport to keep Belgium in
5400-483: A second-place finish at Euro 1980, the 1980s and the early 1990s are generally considered as Belgium's first golden age. Coached by Guy Thys , they achieved their spot in the 1980 final with an unbeaten record in the group phase; in the final, they narrowly lost the title to West Germany with the score 1–2. Starting with the 1982 World Cup , and ending with the 2002 World Cup , the national team qualified for six consecutive World Cup end stages and mostly progressed to
5625-413: A sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins
5850-492: A sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in
6075-597: A set until losing to Steffi Graf one round later, her only career match against her childhood idol. Clijsters also had a good showing at the US Open , losing to the eventual champion Serena Williams in the third round after squandering a chance to serve for the match. Clijsters next played at the Luxembourg Open held in the town of Kockelscheuer just outside the capital. She won the title with relative ease in just her fourth career WTA event, taking affinity for
6300-516: A significant debate on how to standardise the rules. In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge , a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play. She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island , New York. The first American National championship
6525-435: A total of 170 matches between both disciplines. She partnered with Sugiyama the entire year, winning seven titles in thirteen events. This season also marked the peak of the rivalry between Clijsters and Henin , as the pair faced each other eight matches, the last six of which were in finals. In doubles, five of her ten finals were against the team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez . With her success, Clijsters became
6750-459: A turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require
6975-549: A variety of injury issues for Clijsters. She only played in 14 tournaments, missing the US Open as well as the Fed Cup final. While she reached the semifinals at the other three Grand Slam singles events, she was unable to advance to another final. Clijsters withdrew from her first tournament of the year, the Sydney International with hip and back problems. Although she recovered from those issues in time to reach
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7200-785: A variety of reasons including issues with her shoulder and the event's timing a week after the US Open. During the 2004 Athens Olympics , she was in the middle of a long absence from competition after undergoing wrist surgery. However, she had announced before the year began that she did not intend to compete at the Games because Adidas was the Belgian team's uniform sponsor and her contract with Fila forbade her from wearing clothing from another company. The 2008 Beijing Olympics took place during her first retirement. Having missed these three previous events, Clijsters's desire to represent Belgium at
7425-400: A victory over Henin in the quarterfinals and a retirement due to injury from Venus Williams in the semifinals. Her opponent in the final was Serena Williams, who entered the match with a 56–4 record on the season and having won the last three majors of the year. Although Serena had won their first five encounters and was considered a clear favourite, Clijsters upset Serena in straight sets to win
7650-407: A video clip made by organisation Kick It Out . After a 1905 match, a Dutch reporter wrote that three Belgian footballers "work[ed] as devils". A year later Léopold FC manager Pierre Walckiers nicknamed the players Red Devils, inspired by their jersey colour, and the achievement of three successive victories in 1906. Because of their white home shirts in the 1970s, they were temporarily known as
7875-639: A week, including five hours of individual instruction, which Vanhoudt said was "an insane amount [of total hours]." She continued to train in Diest until she was twelve. During this time, she also first worked with Carl Maes and Wim Fissette , both of whom would coach Clijsters later in her professional career. When she was thirteen, Maes took over as her primary coach at the Flemish Tennis Association in Antwerp . Clijsters had success at both
8100-604: A wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has officially represented Belgium in men's international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad
8325-532: A wildcard, but lost in the first round to Hsieh Su-Wei in three sets. She entered the doubles draw too, the partner was Kirsten Flipkens , but they lost in the first round. Clijsters then participated in postponed Indian Wells Masters , drew Kateřina Siniaková and lost in three sets in the first round. Clijsters played a number of matches for World TeamTennis in 2021, aligned with the New York Empire . With many tournaments having been postponed due to
8550-589: A year against the Netherlands beginning from 1905 onwards, generally once in Antwerp and once in Rotterdam . From these beginnings until 1925, Belgian-Dutch cup trophies would be awarded in the " Low Countries derby ". In 1906, the national team players received the nickname Red Devils because of their red jerseys, and four years later, Scottish ex-footballer William Maxwell replaced the UBSSA committee as their manager. From 1912, UBSSA governed football only and
8775-500: A year and a half". In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , meaning "ball-playing"), and which was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall , in Llanelidan , Wales. According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist , "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of
9000-466: Is 12 wins, and their highest unbeaten record is 23 consecutive official matches. The following is a list of match results in the last twelve months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Win Draw Loss Fixture Source: Since 1904, the RBFA, 25 permanent managers and two caretaker managers have officially been in charge of
9225-405: Is a let or net service , which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball
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9450-412: Is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles ) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles ). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court . The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. If
9675-572: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame , a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only
9900-482: Is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called
10125-434: Is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults , and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally , in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except
10350-638: Is known as the Low Countries derby , as of May 2018 they have played each other in 126 official matches. Belgium won the first four—unofficial—matches against the Netherlands, but lost their first FIFA-recognised contest. The two national teams played each other biannually between 1905 and 1964, except during the World Wars. They have met 18 times in major tournament campaigns, and have played at least 35 friendly cup matches : in Belgium for
10575-618: Is nicknamed le Match Sympathique in French ("the Friendly Match"); they have contested 74 official matches as of September 2020 . The first match between Belgium and France, the Évence Coppée Trophy played in 1904, was the first official match for both teams and the first official football match between independent countries on the European continent. Until 1967, the sides met almost annually. As of September 2020, Belgium have
10800-519: Is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set , where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". A match consists of
11025-417: Is often the same width as the others. The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server , and the opposing player is the receiver . The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind
11250-631: Is the pleasure which was lacking at the end of my first career. But now I've got my motivation back." With no ranking, Clijsters needed wild cards to begin her comeback. She requested and received wild cards for the Cincinnati Open , the Canadian Open , and the US Open . In her return to the tour in Cincinnati, Clijsters defeated three top 20 opponents, including No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, before losing to world No. 1 Dinara Safina in
11475-585: Is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA —both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association . Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1980 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at
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#173277986905411700-422: Is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces. Grass , clay , and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of
11925-518: The 1986 FIFA World Cup . In the second, under guidance of Marc Wilmots and later Roberto Martínez in the 2010s, Belgium topped the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in November 2015 and finished third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup . To date, Belgium is the only national team in the world to top the FIFA ranking without having won a World Cup or a continental trophy. Belgium was one of
12150-806: The 2007 European U-21 Championship ; Belgium's squad qualified for the following year's Summer Olympic in Beijing , where the Young Red Devils squad finished fourth. Seventeen of them appeared in the senior national team, albeit without making an immediate impact. Belgium finished in second (and last) place at the Kirin Cup in May 2009 , and lost against the 125th FIFA-ranked Armenian team in September 2009. After Georges Leekens ' second stint as national manager, his assistant Marc Wilmots became
12375-603: The Brisbane International , narrowly defeating Henin in a third set tiebreak in Henin's first tournament back from her own retirement. She entered the Australian Open as one of the favourites, but was upset by No. 19 Nadia Petrova in the third round, only winning one game in that loss. Clijsters did not return to the tour until March. After an early loss at the Indian Wells Open , she won the Miami Open for
12600-544: The COVID-19 pandemic , Clijsters had only been able to play five matches within the two years that she had returned to the tour. On 12 April 2022, Clijsters announced that she was ending her comeback and again retiring from tennis, citing a desire to focus more on family life. Clijsters made her Fed Cup debut for Belgium in 2000 at the age of 16. The top-tier World Group that year consisted of 13 teams, 12 of which were divided into three round robin groups. The winners of
12825-574: The Coupe Vanden Abeele , and in the Netherlands for the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad-Beker . The overall balance favours the Netherlands, with 55 wins against 41 Belgian victories. The Low Countries' squads co-operated in fundraising initiatives between 1925 and 1941; they played five unofficial matches for charity, FIFA and the Belgian Olympic Committee. The clash between the Belgian and French sides
13050-701: The Dubai Tennis Championships as a wildcard. Clijsters lost to Australian Open runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza in the opening round. She next entered the Monterrey Open as a wildcard losing in the first round to Johanna Konta in two sets. No tournaments were played due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March to July. Clijsters received wildcards at the inaugural Top Seed Open in singles and doubles alongside Sabine Lisicki . Clijsters withdrew from both singles and doubles. Clijsters next played
13275-601: The French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball ). In 1913,
13500-702: The French Open with Jelena Dokic and the US Open with Eva Dyrberg . She defeated her French Open partner Dokic in the US Open doubles final. In singles, she made it to the Wimbledon final, but finished runner-up to Katarina Srebotnik . As a fourteen year old, Clijsters could only enter professional tournaments through qualifying since the WTA Tour's policy did not allow players her age to receive main draw wild cards . In August 1997, Clijsters qualified for her first main draw at her second career tournament on
13725-476: The French Open , played on red clay courts ; Wimbledon , played on grass courts ; and the US Open , also played on hardcourts. Additionally, tennis was one of the original Olympic sports , and has been consistently competed in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988 . Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of
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#173277986905413950-702: The ITF Junior Circuit , the premier junior tour that is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). At the very end of 1997, she partnered with Zsófia Gubacsi to win her first ITF title in the doubles event at the Grade A Orange Bowl , one of the highest level junior tournaments. In 1998, Clijsters had her best year on the junior tour, finishing the season at career-high rankings of world No. 11 in singles and world No. 4 in doubles. She won two junior Grand Slam doubles titles,
14175-524: The Indian Wells Open because of the same ankle injury. While she was healthy enough to play a regular schedule during the clay and grass court seasons, Henin continued her recent dominance of their rivalry over this stretch. She defeated Clijsters in the semifinals of three consecutive events, including the French Open and Wimbledon . During the US Open Series, Clijsters won her fourth Stanford Classic and finished runner-up to Maria Sharapova at
14400-561: The Indian Wells Open following one match with a torn left wrist tendon, she only played in two more WTA events the remainder of the season. She returned to the WTA Tour six weeks later with a wrist brace, but again withdrew after one match. In June, she found out she would need surgery to remove a cyst in her wrist. As a result, she remained out until the Hasselt Cup in Belgium where she needed to retire in her third match. There were few expectations on Clijsters entering 2005, as it still
14625-430: The Indian Wells Open in early 2001, Clijsters finally defeated Hingis in her fourth meeting against the world No. 1 player to reach her first Tier I final. After winning the first set of the final, she ended up losing in three sets to Serena Williams. The match was overshadowed by the controversy of the crowd booing Williams for her sister Venus 's late withdrawal from their semifinal, leading to both sisters boycotting
14850-546: The International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017. Kim Clijsters was born on 8 June 1983 in Bilzen , a small town in northeastern Belgium. She grew up with her younger sister Elke in the nearby town of Bree in the Flemish province of Limburg . Kim is the daughter of Lei Clijsters and Els Vandecaetsbeek, both of whom were accomplished athletes. Her mother Els was a Belgian national artistic gymnastics champion. Her father Lei
15075-784: The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Belgium's national team have participated in three quadrennial major football competitions. It appeared in the end stages of fourteen FIFA World Cups and six UEFA European Championships , and featured at three Olympic football tournaments, including the 1920 Summer Olympic which they won. Other notable performances are victories over four reigning world champions —West Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France—between 1954 and 2002. Belgium has long-standing football rivalries with its Dutch and French counterparts, having played both teams nearly every year from 1905 to 1967. The squad has been known as
15300-519: The Louvre Palace . It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez , which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off
15525-430: The Sydney International . The Australian Open was her only Grand Slam event of the season. For the second consecutive season, she lost in the semifinals, this time to top seed Sharapova. Clijsters's last tournament in Belgium was the Diamond Games , where she finished runner-up to Mauresmo for the second year in a row. A hip injury limited Clijsters's remaining schedule. In her last two tournaments, she lost to Li Na in
15750-519: The US Open on a main draw wildcard losing in the first round to Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets. Clijsters underwent knee surgery in October and did not play another tournament in 2020. Clijsters pulled out of the 2021 Miami Open , saying she did not feel ready to compete after her surgery and contracting COVID-19 in January. She played her first tournament of the year at the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic , having accepted
15975-539: The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. She was a three-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships . Between singles and doubles, she has been a champion at all four Grand Slam tournaments, winning the US Open and the Australian Open in singles and Wimbledon and the French Open in doubles partnering Ai Sugiyama . Her success at the majors was highlighted by winning three consecutive appearances at
16200-630: The World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament. At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia – today's Grand Slam events. The impact on
16425-517: The offside trap , a defensive tactic that was already intensively applied in the 1960s by Anderlecht coach Pierre Sinibaldi . According to football journalist Wim De Bock, "master tactician" Goethals represented the "conservative, defensive football of the Belgian national team"; he added that in the 1970s, the contrast between the Belgian playing style and the Total Football of their Dutch rivals "could not be bigger". In an attempt to win
16650-467: The 1950s and the 1960s: the 1954 World Cup . The day before the tournament began, the RBFA was among the three UEFA founders. Dutch journalists considered the draw of the 1954 Belgian team in their opener against England to be the most surprising result of that match day, even more than Switzerland 's victory over the Italian "football stars". However, Belgium were eliminated after a loss to Italy in
16875-646: The 1980s and the early 1990s, Rik De Saedeleer crowned himself the nation's most famous football commentator with his emotional and humorous reports. Initially the matches were transmitted mainly on public television channels: the former BRTN (now VRT ) in Dutch, and the RTBF in French. Since 1994, commercial channels such as vtm and its sister channel Kanaal 2 , and VIER in Flanders , have purchased broadcasting rights. The Euro 2016 round-of-16 match against Hungary
17100-480: The 2005 US Open, her first Grand Slam singles title. After Wimbledon in late June, Clijsters only lost one more match through early October. During this stretch, she won five titles including her third Stanford Classic and her fifth Luxembourg Open . She also built up a 22-match win streak and defeated Henin in the final of the Tier I Canadian Open in their only meeting of the year. Clijsters's most important title of
17325-513: The 2014 FIFA World Cup event; the Manneken Pis statue received a child-sized version of the new Belgian uniform, and facets of the Atomium 's upper sphere were covered in black, yellow and red vinyl. Belgium's main football rivals are its neighbors the Netherlands and France , with which it shares close cultural and political relations. The matchup between the Belgian and Dutch team
17550-406: The 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to
17775-677: The Belgian Junior Championships as doubles partners at ages ten and eleven respectively, despite only being able to communicate with hand signals due to Clijsters not knowing French and Henin not knowing Flemish. However, their friendship began to fade by their mid-teens, leading to disputes that their coaches would try to keep out of the media. Clijsters attributed this deterioration in part to one of Henin's coaches telling Henin, "she had to hate all of her opponents, and only then could she win." She also acknowledged they had very different personalities. Tennis Tennis
18000-543: The Belgian footballing nation "mortally ill". Of the fans that kept supporting their squad in bad times, Ludo Rollenberg was one of the most loyal. He attended the team's matches worldwide since 1990, missing only the 1999 Japanese Kirin Cup and two other matches by 2006, and was the only supporter to attend their matches in Armenia in 2009. Just before the kick-off of a 2014 World Cup home qualifier, Belgium's footballers saw
18225-537: The Belgian national team's first ever Fan Day attracted over 20,000 supporters; a second was held after the 2014 World Cup. On the days of Belgium's 2014 World Cup group matches, large dance events titled Dance with the Devils took place in three Belgian cities. This type of happening was repeated during Belgium's Euro 2016 group matches. Occasionally, the Belgian team directly supported charity. Between 1914 and 1941 they played at least five unofficial matches of which
18450-594: The Belgians played their first official match, against France at the Stade du Vivier d'Oie in Uccle; their draw left the Évence Coppée Trophy unclaimed. Twenty days later, the football boards of both countries were among the seven FIFA founders. At that time, the Belgian squad was chosen by a committee chaired by Édouard de Laveleye , who usually drew from the country's six or seven major clubs. Belgium would play twice
18675-589: The IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988. The Davis Cup , an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup , was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF. In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with
18900-442: The ITF level, winning four more titles within the next year, two in both singles and doubles. Clijsters began 1999 with a WTA singles ranking of No. 420 in the world. Around this time, Belgian women's tennis was beginning to flourish. Both Dominique Van Roost and Sabine Appelmans had been ranked in the top 20 within the previous two years, complementing the rise of Clijsters and Henin on the junior tour. This success helped lead to
19125-525: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And
19350-766: The Olympics was one of the underlying reasons why she prolonged her second career until the 2012 London Games in late July. At the time, she did not have good results at her most recent tournaments, withdrawing from the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in the semifinals in June due to injury and suffering a lopsided loss in the fourth round at Wimbledon. In her Olympic debut, Clijsters won her first three matches in straight sets, defeating Roberta Vinci , Carla Suárez Navarro , and No. 12 Ana Ivanovic in succession. She faced No. 3 Maria Sharapova in
19575-407: The Olympics after the 1924 Games , but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier , ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch . The success of the event was overwhelming, and
19800-408: The RBFA to dismiss Wilmots. In the 2018 World Cup qualifying allocation, they were seeded first in their group, and made the final tournament under Spanish manager Roberto Martínez , becoming the first European team besides hosts Russia to do so. Belgium was eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions France, but won the third place play-off against England . On 16 November 2019, for
20025-507: The Red Devils since 1906; its fan club is named "1895". During the national player career of forward Paul Van Himst , the most-praised Belgian footballer of the 20th century, Belgium finished in third place as hosts at UEFA Euro 1972 . After that, they experienced two golden ages with many gifted players. In the first period, which lasted from the 1980s to the early 1990s, the team finished as runners-up at UEFA Euro 1980 and fourth in
20250-406: The Red Devils were aligned in a contemporary 2–3–5 "pyramid" . In 1954, Doug Livingstone 's squad played in a 3–2–5 "WM" arrangement during World Cup matches. Throughout most of their tournament matches in the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s, the team played in a 4–4–2 formation . Since Raymond Goethals' stint in the 1970s, a key strength of the Belgian squad has been their systematic use of
20475-459: The Tier I San Diego Classic . However, her summer season came to an end when she fell on her left wrist in her opening round match at the Canadian Open . This injury kept her out until late October. She made her return at the Hasselt Cup and won her second consecutive title at the event. Clijsters entered the WTA Tour Championships ranked No. 5 in the world, where all three other players she
20700-466: The US Open Series, she won the Cincinnati Open , the tournament where she returned from retirement a year earlier. At her next event, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open by Zvonareva while struggling with a thigh injury. Nonetheless, Clijsters recovered to defend her title at the US Open . In the last three rounds, she defeated three top ten players in No. 6 Samantha Stosur, No. 4 Venus Williams, and No. 8 Vera Zvonareva. Venus came
20925-550: The US Open having not lost a match there since the 2003 final. She recorded her last WTA singles match win against Victoria Duval in the first round before falling to Laura Robson in her next match. Her career ended with a second round mixed doubles loss alongside Bob Bryan to the eventual champions Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares , at which point she officially retired. After more than seven years of retirement, Clijsters returned to professional tennis in February 2020 at
21150-495: The US Open, but withdrew in the second round due to rain delaying Sugiyama's fourth round singles match for three days. They ended the season by finishing runners-up to Ruano Pascual and Suarez at the WTA Tour Championships. Despite Clijsters's success in 2003, she seldom played doubles during the rest of her career. Although Clijsters maintained her form into 2004, her season was ultimately marred by injuries. It
21375-423: The US Open. Plagued by injuries and having lost some of her desire to compete, Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007 at the age of 23 in order to get married and have a daughter. She returned to the sport two years later and won her second US Open title as an unranked player in just her third tournament back. She defended her title the following year and then won the Australian Open in 2011 en route to becoming
21600-624: The United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East . The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region. Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on
21825-426: The United States, with Clijsters and Malisse losing both singles matches to Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill respectively. Although the United States lost to Italy, they advanced out of the group on the tiebreak criteria, having won six rubbers compared to the five won by each of Belgium and Italy. Both of the ties Belgium had won were by a score of 2–1, with Clijsters losing to Francesca Schiavone against Italy and
22050-495: The White Devils. Since 2012, the team logo is a red trident (or three-pronged pitchfork), an item that is often associated with the devil. Apart from that, the national squad has also had four official anthropomorphous mascots. The first was a lion in team kit named Diabolix, a reference to the central symbol in the Belgian coat of arms that appeared on the team jerseys from 1905 to 1980. In accordance with their epithet,
22275-482: The Wimbledon exhibition. She added that she was taking a different approach to tennis, saying, "I am looking at this as a second career, not as a comeback as I am now in a situation where not everything revolves around tennis 24 hours a day." Clijsters and Henman won the exhibition doubles, and Clijsters also defeated her idol Graf in singles. She commented, "I wanted to feel good here on court. And I've enjoyed it. This
22500-473: The World Cup semi-finalists appeared on the balcony of Brussels Town Hall , the adjoining Grand Place square was filled with an ecstatic crowd that cheered as though their squad had won a major tournament. The team's deterioration after the 2002 World Cup lead to their absence from the end stages of the next five major tournament, and strained their popularity. Between 2004 and 2010, local journalists called
22725-563: The abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era , in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image (although it
22950-454: The arm than most strings. Most synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts. Polyester strings allow for more spin on
23175-432: The ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones. Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm. Hybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for
23400-410: The baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve , although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this
23625-406: The baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm ( 1 ⁄ 3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside
23850-606: The better record, with 30 wins to France's 25, and France has played most often against Belgium in international football. Numerous former and current venues in 11 urban areas have hosted Belgium's home matches. Most of these matches have been played in Brussels on the Heysel Plateau , on the site of the present-day King Baudouin Stadium —a multipurpose facility with a seating capacity of 50,122. Its field also hosts
24075-422: The caretaker in May 2012. After two matches as interim coach, Wilmots agreed to replace Leekens as manager. Following his appointment, the team's results improved, such that some foreign media regarded it as another Belgian golden generation. The young Belgian squad qualified as unbeaten group winners for the 2014 World Cup final, and earned Belgium's second-ever place in a World Cup quarter-finals with
24300-442: The chair umpire in tournament play. A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server , has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win
24525-464: The championship against No. 13 Mary Pierce with ease, only conceding four games. As the winner of the US Open Series , Clijsters received double the standard amount of prize money. Her $ 2.2 million prize was the largest in women's sports history at the time. Clijsters's last tournament of the year was the WTA Tour Championships . Although she had a chance to return to No. 1 if she outperformed
24750-474: The championship, her fourth Grand Slam singles title and first outside of the US Open. This title would be the last of Clijsters's career. She made one last final at her next WTA event, the Paris Open , where she was defeated by Petra Kvitová . Nonetheless, this result helped Clijsters regain the world No. 1 ranking before Caroline Wozniacki took it back one week later. During the rest of the season, Clijsters
24975-518: The championship. After the tournament, she said, "This is the best victory of my career." The 2003 season was Clijsters's " annus mirabilis ". She competed in 21 singles events, reaching the semifinals in all but one of them, advancing to 15 finals, and winning nine titles. With a record of 90–12, she was the first player to accrue 90 wins since Martina Navratilova in 1982 and the first to play more than 100 matches since Chris Evert in 1974. Clijsters also played an extensive doubles schedule, compiling
25200-536: The clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874." The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874. This was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in
25425-431: The closest to ending her title defense, but lost in three sets after serving two double faults in the second set tiebreak which could have won her the match. Clijsters won the final over Zvonareva with ease in less than an hour. This was her third consecutive title at the US Open and the fourth consecutive time she made it to the championship match, having skipped the tournament four times since 2003. Clijsters' final event of
25650-453: The complete official match record of the Belgian national team comprises 847 matches : 374 wins, 178 draws and 295 losses. During these matches, the team scored 1,516 times and conceded 1,315 goals. Belgium's highest winning margin is nine goals, which has been achieved on four occasions: against Zambia in 1994 (9–0), twice against San Marino in 2001 (10–1) and 2019 (9–0), and against Gibraltar in 2017 (9–0). Their longest winning streak
25875-461: The consolation match against Hungary. In 1973, the denial of a match-winning goal in their last 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification match for UEFA Group 3 cost Belgium their appearance at the final, causing Belgium to become the only nation ever to miss a World Cup final round despite not allowing a goal during the qualifiers. The next two attempts to reach a major final ( Euro 1976 and the 1978 FIFA World Cup ) were also fruitless. Beginning with
26100-424: The court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline
26325-399: The credit for the development of modern tennis." According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced a boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with
26550-632: The disaster, plans were unveiled for a renovation; in 1995, after two years of work, the modernised stadium was named after the late King Baudouin . In May 2013, the Brussels-Capital Region announced that the King Baudouin Stadium would be replaced by Eurostadium , elsewhere on the Heysel Plateau; in 2018, however, the plans for the new stadium were cancelled definitively. As of 14 November 2024 ,
26775-467: The doubles event at the 14-and-under European Junior Championships as well as the 14-and-under European Junior Team Championships for Belgium, both in 1996 and the latter of which also with Leslie Butkiewicz . Her first big international junior title came at Les Petits As , a high-level 14-and-under tournament. She defeated future top 25 players Iveta Benešová and Elena Bovina in the semifinals and final respectively. Clijsters played two full seasons on
27000-412: The early 1970s, under manager Raymond Goethals . Fully dressed in white, as the White Devils, Belgium had their first victories at World and European Championship at the 1970 World Cup and Euro 1972. En route to that Euro appearance, their first, they eliminated reigning European champions Italy by winning the two-legged quarter-final on aggregate . At the end stage, they finished third by winning
27225-611: The end of the season, Clijsters was named WTA Newcomer of the Year , having risen to No. 47 in the world. Clijsters was unable to repeat her success at the Grand Slam tournaments in 2000, not advancing past the second round at any of the singles events. However, she continued her steady climb in the rankings up to No. 18 on the strength of two more titles, one at the Tasmanian International in her first tournament of
27450-546: The event from the previous season. In the early part of the season, Clijsters and Sugiyama won three titles on hard courts. However, they did not win any big titles through May, losing in the Australian Open quarterfinals to the Williams sisters and finishing runners-up at their first two Tier I finals. They entered the French Open and Wimbledon and made it to the finals at both events. Clijsters and Sugiyama defeated
27675-499: The fans during the squad's peak popularity in the 2010s. During the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, a string of interactive events called the Devil Challenges were organised. The premise was that small groups of international players would do a favour in return for each of the five comprehensive chores their supporters completed ("colour Belgium red", "gather 500,000 decibels", etc.), all of which were accomplished. In June 2013,
27900-593: The final in straight sets. Clijsters had been regarded as the favourite entering the match because of her performance in the earlier rounds and Henin's lengthy semifinal match the previous day. The title helped Henin rise to No. 2 in the world. The last stage of the season featured Clijsters battling Henin for the top ranking. Clijsters defeated Henin in the final of the Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt to defend her title and her world No. 1 ranking. This
28125-527: The final. She won another Tier I title on clay in May at the Italian Open over No. 4 Amélie Mauresmo, who had a chance to serve for the match in the second set. At the French Open , both Clijsters and Henin reached the final to guarantee that the winner would become the first Belgian Grand Slam singles champion. Henin had won their only meeting in a final in 2003 thus far at the German Open , which
28350-467: The first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others. Between 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem , a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed
28575-548: The first Belgian world No. 1 in singles or doubles , achieving both feats in August. Clijsters began her singles season by winning the Sydney International over Lindsay Davenport , her third consecutive title. She extended her tour win streak to 17 matches—all without dropping a set—before she was defeated by Serena Williams in an Australian Open semifinal where she had a 5–1 lead in the third set as well as two match points on serve. She said afterwards, "The only thing I regret
28800-436: The first mainland European countries to play association football, with the earliest recorded example of its practice in Belgium dating back to 1863. On 11 October 1900, Beerschot AC honorary president Jorge Díaz announced that Antwerp would host a series of challenge matches between Europe's best football teams. After some organisational problems, on 28 April 1901, Beerschot's pitch hosted its first tournament , in which
29025-475: The first mother to be the world No. 1. Along with Margaret Court , she also holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a mother, with three such titles, and was the first to win one since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980. Clijsters retired again following the 2012 US Open . Seven years later, she began a second comeback in early 2020, ending in 2022. Clijsters was born to athletic parents with backgrounds in professional football and gymnastics. She
29250-682: The first time in its history the team topped the World Football Elo Ratings , after a 1–4 away win over Russia during the Euro 2020 qualifiers . Despite the impressive form in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers as well as being regarded as the biggest contender for the European trophy, the tournament became a complete disappointment for Belgium. Being drawn in Group B alongside Russia, Denmark and Finland , Belgium easily conquered
29475-420: The first two 6–0. Her straight sets win over Serena was overshadowed by her opponent receiving a point penalty on match point for verbally abusing a line judge. Clijsters then defeated No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki to win her second US Open championship. She became the first unseeded woman to win the title at the event, and the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980. With
29700-487: The following 23 players were named in the squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Italy and Israel on 14 and 17 November 2024, respectively. Three days later, Charles De Ketelaere , Jérémy Doku , Malick Fofana and Joaquin Seys all dropped out due to injury or not being fully fit, with Samuel Mbangula , Albert Sambi Lokonga , Killian Sardella and Arthur Vermeeren called up to replace them. After
29925-556: The following decade, Belgium lost all of their matches at the first three FIFA World Cup final tournament. According to historian Richard Henshaw, "[t]he growth of [football] in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and South America left Belgium far behind". Although World War II hindered international football events in the 1940s, the Belgian team remained active with unofficial matches against squads of other allied nations . Belgium qualified for only one of eight major tournament during
30150-497: The following guidelines; The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm). Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in
30375-467: The foundation year of the RBFA. One year later, 1895 had 24,000 members. The nationwide interest in the football squad has also been reflected by the occasional presence of Belgian monarchs at their matches since 1914. One of the greatest moments for the Belgian team and their 12th man was in mid-1986 when the Belgian delegation at the Mexico World Cup received a warm "welcome home". When
30600-533: The four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event. The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen . That same year, tennis withdrew from
30825-644: The fourth round of the Miami Open in March and qualifier Julia Vakulenko in her opening match at the Warsaw Open in May. Her last win was against Samantha Stosur in Miami. A few days after losing in Warsaw, Clijsters announced her retirement at the age of 23, forgoing plans to finish the season. A few months after Clijsters retired, she married American basketball player Brian Lynch (who later retired and became
31050-515: The freedom they gave her when she was a young player, saying, "Without the support I've had from my family, I wouldn't be where I am. They've let me make my own decisions." When Clijsters was five years old, her father built a clay tennis court at their home as a gift to his daughter to celebrate him winning the 1988 Gouden Schoen , an award given to the player of the year in the Belgian First Division. He had previously announced
31275-485: The friendly atmosphere of the smaller tournament and the faster carpet courts. Most notably, she faced off against Van Roost in the final and only conceded four games to the top-ranked Belgian. Clijsters also made the singles final in Bratislava at her next tournament, finishing runner-up to No. 11 Amélie Mauresmo . Nonetheless, she was able to win the doubles event with compatriot Laurence Courtois as her partner. At
31500-404: The game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair. If a tiebreak
31725-411: The game has break point , double break point or triple break point , respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve , as
31950-449: The group with three wins. In the knockout phase , Belgium first faced reigning champions Portugal in the last sixteen and survived the scare with a thunder strike from Thorgan Hazard to give Belgium a 1–0 win. In the quarter-finals, Belgium once again faced old foe Italy, but Belgium failed to take revenge for their 2016 loss, once again suffering a 1–2 defeat, with the goal being scored by Romelu Lukaku , ending Belgium's campaign on
32175-501: The hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis , and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes , Val-de-Marne, and following
32400-565: The hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon , kevlar , or polyester . The first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on
32625-516: The idea of the gift as a celebration of the award during a television interview. Clijsters began playing tennis earlier that year after attending a lesson with her cousins and her uncle while her parents were away. From then on, she became fixated on the sport. She began playing with her sister at the Tennisdel club in Genk by the time she was seven. Her first coach Bart Van Kerckhoven recalled that she
32850-447: The initial stage. Clijsters swept her group of Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva , and Chanda Rubin . She won her semifinal against Capriati before defeating Mauresmo again for the title. With the million dollar prize, Clijsters finished the season as the tour prize money leader and became the first player to earn four million dollars in a season on the WTA Tour. Nonetheless, Henin took the year-end No. 1 ranking by improving on her performance at
33075-507: The late 1990s, they played three friendly tournament in Morocco, Cyprus and Japan, sharing the 1999 Kirin Cup with Peru in the latter. The greatest talents of the Belgian team during this golden age were retired from international football by 2000. At the eve of the World Cup in 2002, Belgium defeated reigning world and European champions France. During that World Cup, Belgium defeated Russia and tied with co-host Japan and Tunisia to reach
33300-538: The lower-level ITF Women's Circuit , which was held in the Belgian coastal town of Koksijde . She won seven matches in total, including five in qualifying, to reach the quarterfinals. Clijsters did not enter another professional tournament until after her runner-up finish at the Wimbledon girls' singles event the following summer. Playing in Brussels in July 1998, she won both the singles and doubles events for her first career professional titles. Clijsters continued to excel at
33525-553: The mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses. Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with
33750-417: The match against Italy, five players dropped out due to injury or not being fully fit: De Cuyper, Lavia, Lukaku, Onana and Theate. Norman Bassette was the only replacement player called-up. Information correct as of 17 November 2024 , after the match against [REDACTED] Israel . The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past twelve months, but not part of
33975-437: The most recent squad. Between 1904 and 1980, mainly attacking Belgium players were recognised as talented footballers. In the team's first decade, striker Robert De Veen was very productive with 26 goals in 23 international appearances. Richard Henshaw described Alphonse Six as "Belgium's greatest player in the prewar period ... [who] was often called the most skillful forward outside Great Britain". The key player of
34200-463: The national and international levels at a very young age. In 1993, she won the 12-and-under division of the Belgian Junior Championships (the Coupe de Borman) in doubles with her future longtime rival Justine Henin . At the time, Clijsters was ten years old and Henin was eleven. A year later, she won the 12-and-under singles event at the same tournament. Clijsters continued to play alongside Henin, winning
34425-410: The national team supported four social projects through the charity fund Football+ Foundation, by playing an A-match with a plus sign on the shoulders of their jerseys and auctioning the shirts. In the 21st century, several national team players acted up against discrimination. In 2002, the national squad held its first anti- racism campaign in which they posed with slogans. A home Euro 2012 qualifier
34650-444: The national team; this includes one national footballer selector. As of June 2024 , a crew of over 30 RBFA employees guides the player group, including German-Italian head coach Domenico Tedesco , and assistant coaches Andreas Hinkel and Luke Benstead. Under Marc Wilmots , Belgium reached the top FIFA ranking spot in 2015, which earned him the title of Best Coach of the Year at the 2015 Globe Soccer Awards . Under Guy Thys,
34875-399: The net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at
35100-472: The next mascots were a red super-devil and two fan-made modern devils; the most recent one, since 2018, was named "Red". "Cycling is the traditional national sport of Belgium, but soccer is the most popular." —Historian Richard Henshaw, 1979 Fans of the Belgian national team display the country's tricolour national flag, usually with an emphasis on the red element. In 2012, local supporter clubs merged into one large Belgian federation named "1895" after
35325-468: The next three majors. She also played in her first Grand Slam doubles final at Wimbledon later that year, with Ai Sugiyama as her partner. She won three singles titles in 2001, including her second titles at both the Luxembourg Open and the Sparkassen Cup , to help her finish the season at No. 5 in the world. With four doubles finals in total, she was also ranked No. 15 in doubles at the end of
35550-408: The official ITF list of approved tennis balls. Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with
35775-411: The older racket sport today called real tennis . The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows
36000-519: The pair losing the mixed doubles against the French team of Virginie Razzano and Arnaud Clément . The following year, Clijsters and Malisse again lost to the United States, who fielded a different team of Serena Williams and James Blake . Clijsters did not compete at the Olympics until 2012 near the end of her career. She had been ranked inside the top 40 in the months leading up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics in September, high enough to qualify. However, she did not make herself available for selection for
36225-488: The player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by
36450-410: The player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when
36675-416: The previous badge was a yellow lion on a black shield, similar to the escutcheon of the national coat of arms . On 8 November 2019, the Royal Belgian Football Association revealed a new logo, which preserved the main elements of the previous one: the royal crown, the wreath and the Belgian tricolor. For their first unofficial match in 1901, the Belgian team wore white jerseys with tricoloured bands on
36900-421: The previous round. "That defeat against Zvonareva at Wimbledon was hard to take. It had been perhaps my best and last chance to reach the final. In the semifinal of the US Open, I was absolutely bent on gaining revenge. And I succeeded, too... I'd become the player I'd always wanted to be." — Clijsters on the 2010 US Open final. In the latter half of the year, Clijsters entered only four tournaments. During
37125-500: The quarterfinals, losing in straight sets one match before the medal rounds. Clijsters's biggest rival was Justine Henin, who grew up in the French-speaking part of Belgium. They have been regarded as having little in common except their nationality and their relationship has varied over time. Their rivalry began during their junior years when they were both considered promising young talents. They started out as friends and won
37350-475: The quarterfinals, she lost to No. 3 Victoria Azarenka in another three-set match. Both her hip and ankle continued to trouble her for months after the tournament, forcing her to skip the clay court season. After playing once in March and returning in mid-June, the last WTA events of Clijsters's career were the final two Grand Slam tournaments of the season. She lost at Wimbledon in the fourth round to No. 8 Angelique Kerber , only winning two games. Clijsters entered
37575-473: The quarterfinals. She recorded another top ten victory in Canada over No. 9 Victoria Azarenka . Clijsters was still unranked entering the US Open, as players needed three tour events to have a ranking at the time. Nonetheless, she made it to the final, notably upsetting both Williams sisters, No. 3 Venus in the fourth round and No. 2 Serena in the semifinals. She defeated Venus in a tight third set after they split
37800-449: The receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back . Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles . This involves three players, with one person playing against
38025-414: The receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score. A set consists of
38250-503: The returns were for charitable purposes: two against France, and three against the Netherlands. In mid-1986, when the Belgian delegation reached the Mexico World Cup semi-finals, the squad started a project titled Casa Hogar, an idea of delegation leader Michel D'Hooghe . Casa Hogar is a home for street children in the Mexican industrial city of Toluca , to which the footballers donated part of their tournament bonuses. In August 2013,
38475-463: The revival of the only WTA tournament in Belgium, which was relaunched as the Flanders Women's Open in Antwerp after not being held in six years. Clijsters made her WTA debut at the tournament in May, entering the main draw as a lucky loser after losing in the final round of qualifying. She won her first career tour-level match against Miho Saeki and advanced to the quarterfinals, where she
38700-401: The round of 16. After the 2002 World Cup, the team weakened with the loss of more veterans and coach Waseige. They missed out five successive major finals from UEFA Euro 2004 until UEFA Euro 2012 , and went through an equal number of head coaches. A 2005 win over reigning European champions Greece meant nothing but a small comfort. In between, a promising new generation was maturing at
38925-550: The round robin groups in April would compete with the defending champion United States team in a knockout format for the title in November. Belgium was placed in a group with Australia , France , and Russia . Each tie was contested over one day as a best-of-three rubbers, two in singles and the last in doubles. Clijsters only played singles, while Els Callens and Laurence Courtois played all three doubles matches. Although Clijsters narrowly lost her debut to Jelena Dokic of Australia by
39150-428: The season was the US Open , her first Grand Slam singles title. As the fourth seed, she was not tested until the quarterfinals, when Venus Williams was two games away from defeating her at a set and a break up. Clijsters rebounded to win the match in three sets and then defeated the top seed and world No. 2 Sharapova in the semifinals, also in three sets. Despite her previous struggles in Grand Slam singles finals, she won
39375-433: The season was the WTA Tour Championships , where she qualified for the seventh time. Despite a loss to Zvonareva in her last round robin match, she advanced to the knockout rounds and defeated No. 5 Stosur and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki for her third title at the year-end championships. Clijsters finished the season at No. 3 and was named WTA Player of the Year for the second time. By the start of 2011, Clijsters knew she
39600-470: The season. Although Clijsters did not reach another Grand Slam quarterfinal the rest of the year, she won three more titles leading up to the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles . She received her third invite to the event, which only the top 16 players in the world are guaranteed entry. Clijsters made it to the final with ease after dropping only six games in the first three rounds, including
39825-421: The second (and last) group match. Two bright spots in these decades were wins against World Cup holders: West Germany in 1954, and Brazil in 1963. Between these, Belgium defeated Hungary's Golden Team in 1956. The combination of failure in competitive matches, and success in exhibition matches, gave the Belgians the mock title of "world champions of the friendlies". The team's performance improved during
40050-491: The second round. During this period, managers Guy Thys, Paul Van Himst and Robert Waseige each guided a Belgian selection past the first round. In addition to receiving individual FIFA recognitions , the team reached the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup . After reaching the Euro 1980 final, they were unsuccessful at subsequent European Championship, with early exits from their appearances in 1984 and in 2000 . During
40275-461: The second set. Aggravating that ankle injury at her next event then forced her to miss Wimbledon. Clijsters returned for the Canadian Open , where she suffered an abdominal injury that kept her out the remainder of the season. Clijsters was unable to stay healthy in her last year on the WTA Tour. In the first week of the season, she returned to the tour for the Brisbane International . After winning her first three matches back, she needed to retire in
40500-432: The second time. The only set she lost was in the semifinals to Henin, who she again defeated in a third set tiebreak. She only conceded three games in the final against Venus Williams. During the clay court season, Clijsters tore a muscle in her left foot, which kept her out of the French Open. Although she returned for Wimbledon , she was upset in the quarterfinals by Vera Zvonareva after recording another win over Henin in
40725-489: The semifinal, Clijsters and Kirsten Flipkens were able to lead Belgium to a victory over the United States, who were also short-handed without Lindsay Davenport or the Williams sisters. However, Clijsters was forced to miss the Fed Cup final due to a wrist injury. Henin and Flipkens returned for the final, which Belgium hosted against Italy . The tie was decided by the doubles rubber, which Belgium lost after Henin aggravated
40950-423: The semifinals at the Australian Open , she needed to retire from that match as well after twisting her ankle while down a break in the third set against Amélie Mauresmo. Nonetheless, with Davenport losing in the quarterfinals, Clijsters regained the No. 1 ranking. She held the top ranking through mid-March. Clijsters returned for the Diamond Games where she finished runner-up to Mauresmo, but needed to withdraw from
41175-467: The semifinals due to hip spasms, a precautionary measure to prepare for the Australian Open. As the defending champion at the year's first Grand Slam event, Clijsters made it to the semifinals. Her fourth round victory came against No. 5 Li Na in a rematch of the 2011 final. She overcame rolling her ankle in the first set and saved four match points at 6–2 in the second set tiebreak to win in three sets. After Clijsters defeated world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in
41400-404: The service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it
41625-580: The shirts set "the ugliness record". During the 1970s, manager Raymond Goethals chose an all-white combination to improve the team's visibility during evening matches. Six clothing manufacturers have supplied the official team strip. Adidas is the producer since 2014, and closed a sponsorship deal with the RBFA until 2026; it was also the supplier from 1974 to 1980, and from 1982 to 1991. Former kit manufacturers are Umbro (early 1970s), Admiral (1981–1982), Diadora (1992–1999), Nike (1999–2010) and Burrda (2010–2014). The first live coverage of
41850-417: The singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield . In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle. Tennis
42075-421: The squad achieved record results at World and European Championship; World Soccer magazine accordingly proclaimed him Manager of the Year in 1986. Under Spanish coach Roberto Martínez , the team reached a best-ever third place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup . Rather than developing innovative team formations or styles of play, Belgium's managers applied conventional tactics. At the three 1930s World Cups,
42300-468: The start of a new point. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making
42525-570: The start of the event, citing security concerns a few months after the 11 September terrorist attacks . With Henin and Clijsters exclusively playing singles, and Callens and Courtois playing doubles, Belgium won all nine of their rubbers against Spain , Germany , and Australia to advance to the final. Facing Russia, Henin defeated Nadia Petrova and Clijsters defeated Elena Dementieva to secure Belgium's first Fed Cup crown. Courtois commented, "We were never under any pressure, mainly because Kim and Justine were so strong." While Clijsters and Henin were on
42750-463: The team's outfield players traditionally wear the colours of the Belgian flag : black, yellow and red. Red dominates the strip and is often the sole jersey colour. The away colours are usually white, black or both; in 2014, the squad introduced a third, yellow kit. Their shirts are often trimmed with tricolores at the margins. Since 1981, the RBFA emblem has been the national team's badge;
42975-591: The team's final trainings before domestic matches. Since 2007, most physical preparation takes place at the National Football Centre in Tubize , or at Anderlecht 's training ground in the Neerpede quarter. Apart from Belgian home friendlies, at the international level Belgium's national stadium has also hosted six European Championship matches. In 1930, for the country's centennial, the venue
43200-525: The team, Belgium came closest to another Fed Cup triumph in 2006. In this year, the World Group consisted of eight teams in a knockout tournament. The three rounds were spread out over April, July, and September. Each tie was played as a best-of-five rubbers, with four singles followed by one doubles. In the first round against Russia, both Clijsters and Henin made themselves available and won three out of four singles matches to advance. Although Henin missed
43425-531: The title, she entered the WTA rankings at No. 19. Her only other tournament of the year was the Luxembourg Open , where she lost her second match. At the end of the season, she won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award for the second time. Clijsters planned a limited schedule for 2010 to keep her focus on her family and ended up playing just eleven tournaments. In her first event of the year, she won
43650-435: The title. Each tie consists of a women's singles match, a men's singles match, and a mixed doubles match. The Belgian team did not advance to final in any of the years Clijsters participated. Their best performances came in 2002 and 2003 when they won two out of three round robin ties. In 2002, they finished tied for first with the United States and Italy in a group that also featured France. Belgium's only loss came against
43875-404: The top 100 back into the top 20. Clijsters was unable to continue her success into the clay or grass court seasons, winning just one title and losing in the fourth round in three sets to Davenport at both the French Open and Wimbledon . "It's very hard to believe and an amazing feeling to have. After being out for so much of last year it's a little bit more special." — Clijsters on winning
44100-404: The top seeds Ruano Pascual and Suarez in both finals for Clijsters's first two Grand Slam tournament titles. The French Open final was a tighter match, ending 9–7 in the third set. Despite these titles, the duo remained behind Ruano Pascual and Suarez in the rankings until August when Clijsters became world No. 1. She held the top ranking for four non-consecutive weeks. The pair were the top seeds at
44325-557: The top-ranked Davenport, she only won one match and did not advance out of her round robin group. She finished the year ranked No. 2, having won a tour-best nine titles and all of her finals. She was named both the WTA Player of the Year and the WTA Comeback Player of the Year . Despite this success, Clijsters announced in August that she was planning to retire in 2007 because of her injury troubles. The 2006 season saw
44550-418: The top-ranked Serena Williams had not played on tour since Wimbledon due to a knee injury. She was the first woman to become No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam singles title. Clijsters regained the top ranking in doubles the following week to become only the fifth player in WTA history to be No. 1 in singles and doubles simultaneously. Despite playing the US Open as the top seed, Clijsters again lost to Henin in
44775-460: The tournament for 14 years . A few months later at the French Open , Clijsters became the first Belgian to contest a Grand Slam singles final. She had defeated No. 16 Henin in the semifinals in their closest and highest profile match to date, coming back from a set and a break down, and also having saved three break points that would have put her behind 5–2 in the second set. The final against Australian Open champion and world No. 4 Jennifer Capriati
45000-443: The tournament, Martínez announced that he would be standing down as head coach after six years in charge of the national team. In February 2023, it was announced that Domenico Tedesco has been appointed as the new head coach of the Belgian national team, replacing Roberto Martinez on a contract lasting until the end of Euro 2024 . At the finals, Belgium were eliminated in the round of 16 , losing 1–0 to France. In home matches,
45225-440: The tournament. She won the second set, but ultimately lost the match. The following year, the format for the Fed Cup changed again. The entire competition was played out in November. The three round robin pools were reduced to two and the winners of each pool would contest a final tie for the title. Belgium's team of Clijsters, Henin, Callens, and Courtois from the 2000 final all returned for 2001 . The United States withdrew before
45450-456: The upper arms. Around their third unofficial match in 1902, the choice was made for a "shirt with national colours ... [that would indicate,] with a stripe, the number of times every player has participated in an encounter". Since 1904, Belgium's classic all-red jersey design has been altered twice. In 1904–05, the squad briefly wore satin shirts with three horizontal bands in red, yellow and black; according to sports journalist Victor Boin ,
45675-502: The victorious 1920 Olympic squad was Robert Coppée , who scored a hat-trick against Spain's Ricardo Zamora , and the penalty in the final. Other outstanding Belgian strikers in the interwar period were former top scorer Bernard Voorhoof and "Belgium's football grandmaster" Raymond Braine , considered "one of the greatest players of the era". Gifted players in the 1940s and the 1950s included centre-back Louis Carré and attackers Jef Mermans , Pol Anoul and Rik Coppens ; at
45900-536: The wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis . An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written c. 1705 , read, in part: Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball: Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. The invention of
46125-823: The world was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open , was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino , Newport, Rhode Island . The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia . Tennis also became popular in France, where
46350-428: The year and another at the Sparkassen Cup in Germany near the end of the season. The latter victory was Clijsters's first at a Tier II event (the second highest level tournament) and followed up a loss in another Tier II final to world No. 1 Martina Hingis earlier that month. In the middle of the year, Clijsters also finished runner-up at the Wimbledon mixed doubles event alongside her boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt . At
46575-431: The year. Clijsters maintained her top ten ranking throughout 2002 despite struggling with an ongoing shoulder injury in the first half of the year. Her best result at a Grand Slam event came at the Australian Open , where she lost another three-set match to Capriati in the semifinals in their first meeting since the French Open final. Nonetheless, she continued to rise in the rankings to No. 3 by March, her best ranking for
46800-441: Was a professional football defender who played for a variety of clubs in the top-flight Belgian First Division , including KV Mechelen with whom he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1988 . He was also a member of the Belgium national football team , tallying 40 caps and competing in two World Cups . Clijsters credits her parents for giving her a footballer's legs and a gymnast's flexibility. She also attributes her success to
47025-443: Was a very intense period in our lives." Nearly two months after her father's death, it was announced that Clijsters would play in an exhibition in May with Tim Henman against Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi to test the new retractable roof on Centre Court at Wimbledon. In March 2009, Clijsters stated that she was planning to come out of retirement, motivated by returning to the "training schedule from [her] pro days" to prepare for
47250-416: Was also their only other encounter on clay. While both players had match points in Germany, Henin won in Paris in a lopsided affair where she only lost four games. After losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon to Venus Williams, Clijsters rebounded to win two Tier II titles at the Stanford Classic and the Los Angeles Open . With the second of those titles, she attained the world No. 1 ranking, in part because
47475-423: Was an even tighter match. Playing a day after her 18th birthday, Clijsters won the first set but lost the second. After a French Open final record 22 games and 2 hours 21 minutes in total, she was defeated by Capriati 12–10 in the deciding set. The match was ranked as the greatest French Open women's final in Open Era history by Tennis.com . Clijsters would go on to make it to at least the quarterfinals at each of
47700-415: Was defeated by top seed Sarah Pitkowski despite holding match points. One week after Clijsters turned sixteen, she entered Wimbledon as the youngest player in the top 200. After barely having a high enough ranking to get into the qualifying draw, she ultimately made it to the round of sixteen in her Grand Slam tournament debut. She defeated world No. 10 Amanda Coetzer in the third round and did not drop
47925-455: Was extremely energetic and never wanted to leave the tennis court, adding that, "If the group before her did some sprints to finish off the session, Kim would join in. Then she put her heart and soul into her own training session, after which she joined the next group for their warm-up exercises." At the age of nine, Clijsters began working with Benny Vanhoudt in the more distant town of Diest . Along with her sister, she trained for fifteen hours
48150-412: Was feared that she would need surgery and miss the Australian Open after she injured her left ankle in the Hopman Cup . Nonetheless, she competed at the event and reached the championship match without dropping a set, despite aggravating her ankle injury in the quarterfinals. Her opponent in the final was Henin and unlike their previous two Grand Slam finals, Clijsters was able to win a set. With Henin up
48375-412: Was given the theme of respect for diversity in 2010; this UEFA-supported action was part of the European FARE Action Week. Ex-Red Devil Dimitri Mbuyu —the first black Belgium player (in 1987) —was engaged as godfather, and other foreign, current, and former footballers who played in the Belgian top division participated. In 2018, four national team players spoke up against homophobic violence , in
48600-422: Was grouped with were Russian. Although she lost to her group's top seed, Sharapova, she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva to advance. Her season ended in the semifinals, where she lost to world No. 1 Mauresmo. Clijsters entered 2007 intending to retire at the end of the season, but only ended up playing in five tournaments due to injuries. She won her only title of the year in her first tournament,
48825-424: Was inaugurated as the Jubilee Stadium with an unofficial match between Belgium and the Netherlands. At that time, the stadium had a capacity of 75,000. In 1946, it was renamed Heysel Stadium after its city quarter. This new name became associated with the tragedy preceding the 1985 European Cup Final between Juventus and Liverpool; 39 spectators died after riots in the then antiquated building. Three years after
49050-477: Was limited by a variety of injuries and only played five more tournaments. She needed to retire from a fourth round match at the Indian Wells Open due to a shoulder injury. Then, as a result of a right ankle injury suffered while dancing at a wedding in April, the French Open was the only clay court event she entered. At the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, she was upset in the second round by No. 114 Arantxa Rus after failing to convert two match points in
49275-562: Was not certain whether she would be able to play. After missing the Australian Open, she returned to the tour in February. In her second and third tournaments back, Clijsters won both Tier I events in March, the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open , to become the second woman to complete the Sunshine Double after Steffi Graf in 1994 and 1996. She defeated world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the final of Indian Wells, as well as No. 2 Amélie Mauresmo and No. 3 Maria Sharapova in her last two matches in Miami. These titles lifted her ranking from outside
49500-405: Was planning to retire in 2012 as she did not want to be on the tour while her daughter was in school. She began the season at the Sydney International , where she finished runner-up to Li Na in straight sets despite winning the first five games of the match. The two also met in the final of their next tournament, the Australian Open . Although Clijsters again lost the first set, she recovered to win
49725-399: Was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $ 100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth . There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in
49950-527: Was renamed UBSFA. During the Great War, the national team only played unrecognized friendlies , with matches in and against France. At the 1920 Summer Olympic , in their first official Olympics appearance, the Red Devils won the gold medal on home soil after a controversial final in which their Czechoslovak opponents left the pitch. In the three 1920s Summer Olympic, they achieved fair results (four wins in seven matches), and played their first intercontinental match, against Argentina . However, over
50175-414: Was renowned for her athleticism, which was highlighted by her ability to perform splits on court in the middle of points. She built the offensive side of her game around controlled aggression while also using her exceptional movement to become an elite defensive player. Clijsters was very popular and well-liked as a player, having won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award eight times. She was inducted into
50400-418: Was the eighth time in WTA history where the top two players in the world faced off for the top ranking. Although Clijsters lost the top ranking to Henin the following week, she regained it a week later by winning the Luxembourg Open for the third year in a row. She finished her season by defending her title at the WTA Tour Championships in the first year where the tournament switched to a round robin format in
50625-525: Was the most-watched programme in Belgian television history, with an audience of over four million viewers out of 11.3 million Belgian citizens. In April 2014, the VRT started transmitting a nine-piece, behind-the-scenes documentary about the national team filmed during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, titled Iedereen Duivel ( Everybody Devil ). Cable broadband provider Telenet broadcast an eight-part documentary about individual players titled Rode Helden ( Red Heroes ). Multiple events were organised for
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