Hot news: Kim Clijsters to announce comeback plans on Thursday

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Former world number one Kim Clijsters will reveal her 2009 plans on Thursday and U.S. Open organisers said they would be happy to offer her a wildcard if she announces a return to the tour.

The 25-year-old Belgian will “unveil her plans for the 2009 season” at the tennis centre in her home town of Bree north of Brussels where she has been training in recent weeks, a statement issued on her behalf said.

Her former coach Carl Maes told Reuters last week that Clijsters, who retired in May 2007 before marrying basketball player Brian Lynch and giving birth to a daughter, could return to the WTA tour.

The former U.S. Open champion announced last week that she would compete in the World Team Tennis event in the United States later this year and in a special event at Wimbledon in May, alongside Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman.

U.S. Open tournament director Jim Curley sent her a note asking if she was interested in any involvement at the Open, ranging from an exhibition up to taking a wildcard, spokesman Chris Widmaier said.

“Nothing official has happened yet as far as a wildcard for the U.S. Open,” Widmaier said.

“However, there are few better ambassadors for the sport of tennis than Kim Clijsters as a former champion and world number one. If she were to ask for a wildcard I’m sure she would get it.”

Clijsters, U.S. Open champion in 2005, won 34 singles titles overall and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 19 weeks.