Elke Clijsters

Elke Clijsters (born 18 January 1985) is a former professional tennis player from Belgium.

Elke Clijsters
Country (sports) Belgium
ResidenceBree, Belgium
Born (1985-01-18) 18 January 1985
Bilzen, Belgium
Turned pro2000
Retired2004
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$47,951
Singles
Career record53–54 (49.5%)
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 389 (15 September 2003)
Doubles
Career record52–23 (69.3%)
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 244 (6 October 2003)

Career

Elke won the 2002 girls' Wimbledon Championships doubles title with Barbora Strýcová, and the girls' US Open doubles title with compatriot Kirsten Flipkens.[1][2] Her highest singles ranking was 389, a ranking she achieved on 15 September 2003. She played in the Belgium Fed Cup team in 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing all four matches, of which one was a singles match. In 2004, she reached the finals of two ITF singles tournaments, winning the one in Bournemouth. In the same year, she also reached the finals of two ITF doubles tournaments, of which she also won one. She retired in 2004 due to a persistent back injury.[3]

In 2021, Clijsters participated in the Belgian version of The Bachelorette.[4]

Personal life

Her father was the Belgian football player Lei Clijsters (1956–2009) and her sister is former world No. 1 tennis player, Kim Clijsters (born 1983). Elke married footballer Jelle Van Damme on 31 May 2008 in Bree, Belgium.[5] They had their first child in 2009, a boy.[6] She gave birth to their second child, a girl in November 2010. Their marriage ended in 2016.

ITF Circuit finals
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 7 April 2003 ITF Torre del Greco, Italy Clay Italy Raffaella Bindi 4–6, 2–6
Loss 2. 11 August 2003 ITF Koksijde, Belgium Clay Czech Republic Lenka Snajdrová 4–6, 2–6
Win 3. 1 May 2004 ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom Clay United Kingdom Melanie South 3–,6 6–1, 6–2
Loss 4. 8 May 2004 ITF Edinburgh, United Kingdom Clay Russia Ekaterina Kozhokina 1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 10 (7 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 21 August 2000 ITF Westende, Belgium Clay Belgium Caroline Maes Netherlands Natasha Galouza
Netherlands Anouk Sterk		 1–6, 0–6
Win 2. 3 September 2001 ITF Pétange, Luxembourg Clay Australia Jaslyn Hewitt Belarus Natallia Dziamidzenka
Netherlands Kika Hogendoorn		 6–1, 6–3
Win 3. 5 August 2002 ITF Rebecq, Belgium Clay Australia Jaslyn Hewitt Belgium Leslie Butkiewicz
Netherlands Tessy van de Ven		 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 4. 3 November 2002 ITF Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Poland Marta Domachowska Sweden Jenny Loow
Netherlands Suzanne van Hartingsveldt		 6–1, 6–1
Loss 5. 21 January 2003 ITF Hull, United Kingdom Hard (i) Serbia and Montenegro Borka Majstorović Russia Irina Bulykina
Kazakhstan Galina Voskoboeva		 6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win 6. 2 February 2003 ITF Tipton, United Kingdom Hard (i) Romania Liana Ungur Czech Republic Zuzana Černá
Czech Republic Iveta Gerlová		 6–3, 6–2
Win 7. 18 May 2003 ITF Casale Monferrato, Italy Clay New Zealand Leanne Baker Netherlands Jolanda Mens
Germany Stefanie Weis		 6–3, 6–4
Win 8. 11 August 2003 ITF Koksijde, Belgium Clay Belgium Kirsten Flipkens Czech Republic Zuzana Černá
Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová		 6–2, 6–4
Loss 9. 2 March 2004 ITF Buchen, Germany Hard (i) Belgium Caroline Maes Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
Czech Republic Eva Hrdinová		 1–6, 4–6
Win 10. 29 March 2004 ITF Napoli, Italy Clay Luxembourg Mandy Minella Netherlands Michelle Gerards
Netherlands Mariëlle Hoogland		 6–1, 6–0

References
  1. "2002 Wimbledon Wrapup and Analysis". About.com. 10 July 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. Fayat, Serge (10 September 2002). "US Open - Elke Clijsters et Flipkens". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. Belga (15 June 2004). "Elke Clijsters met fin à sa carrière". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. Callens, Florian (5 May 2021). "'De Bachelorette': Kim Clijsters geeft zus Elke laatste raad voor beslissende roosceremonie". Newsmonkey (in Flemish). Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. "Elke en Jelle in alle stilte getrouwd". Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 2 June 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. "Zoontje voor Jelle Van Damme en Elke Clijsters". De Standaard (in Dutch). 13 October 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
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