Miami
Kim Clijsters is out of the Miami Open, but Andy Murray may be in. Former world No. 1 Clijsters, twice retired and now a 37-year-old mother of three, announced on Sunday that she is withdrawing from the Miami Open tennis tournament, which begins March 22 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Meanwhile, SkySports reported that another former No. 1, Andy Murray, is expected to get a wild card into the tournament. Murray, 33, is on the comeback trail after hip surgery two years ago.
He was expected to play in Dubai, but skipped it after his wife Kim Sears gave birth to their fourth child. He was planning to fly to Miami early this week to begin training for the Miami Open.
Clijsters, a two-time Miami Open champion, had been granted a wild card and told the Herald how excited she was to return to the event for the first time since 2012.
But she said, via her Twitter feed, that nagging injuries and a COVID-related layoff are keeping her from a return.
“I had COVID in January and while the symptoms were mild, it did disrupt my training schedule,” she wrote. “I’ve had an intensive few weeks of training with my team.
Unfortunately, I am not where I need to be especially if I want to compete with the best.
“It’s disappointing and frustrating.
I knew this was going to be hard when I started this journey – and there have been challenges that are out of my control. I’m not ready to quit. I’m going to keep pushing and see what’s possible.”—AP
