Share

Clijsters kids over pregnancy

Melbourne - Working mother Kim Clijsters took the opportunity to clarify on centre court at the Australian Open that she is not pregnant with No 2.

Add one more rule to the adage that you should never ask a woman if she's pregnant: Don't text message the question to her friend, either.

Former Australian tennis star Todd Woodbridge learned that lesson the hard way. And Clijsters reveled in publicly chiding him, in one of the more amusing on-court interviews at a Grand Slam tournament.

The US Open champion had just won her second-round match on Thursday, swiftly beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3, and was greeted by Woodbridge for an on-court interview.

"You thought I was pregnant?" she lightheartedly asked Woodbridge, drawing stadium-wide laughter as she informed him she had seen the text message he'd sent to Australian doubles player Rennae Stubbs.

"Are you?" he asked, blushing.

"No, I'm not" she said, leaning into his microphone to recount that his message said Clijsters "looks really grumpy" and more busty than usual. Woodbridge joked that his TV career was now over.

The 27-year-old Clijsters, known as one of the friendliest and polite players on the women's tour, later said she'd enjoyed the playful banter.

The day before the match Clijsters said she was chatting with Stubbs, a close friend, about "babies and having a second one" when Stubbs showed her the text message from Woodbridge. When Thursday's match ended and Clijsters saw Woodbridge was her interviewer, she chuckled.

"I saw him walk out there, it's like, 'OK, I'm going to get him back now,"' she said, smiling.

Motherhood clearly agrees with Clijsters's career. The former No 1-player took time off the tour when she married and had a child - daughter Jada, born in February 2008. She returned from a two-and-a-half-year retirement to win the US Open in 2009, just three tournaments into her comeback.

The accomplishment made Clijsters the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980. In tribute to motherhood - and to the Australian tennis great - Clijsters is wearing a green shirt-and-skirt outfit at this year's tournament that was inspired by what Goolagong wore in her Grand Slam win.

"She was a mother when she won her Grand Slam," Clijsters said of Goolagong's last major title. Clijsters said that her sponsor, Fila, also sponsored Goolagong and came up with the idea. "It's an honour to be wearing it."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE