“The Comeback of Kim Clijsters: Episode 2 – Struggling to Balance Motherhood and Professional Athlete Goals”

This second episode evokes the period between June and the end of August 2019. The common thread remains the difficulty for the Limburger woman to find a body in line with that of a professional athlete, which is far from easy after three deliveries, but also how to manage this comeback attempt while ensuring her role as a mother.

”65% mom, 35% player”

”At the moment I am 65% mother and 35% tennis player”also evokes Kim Clijsters while admitting to her dietician: “I have to lose weight, my knees and ankles hurt. My goal is the Australian Open 2020.”

Despite cycling sessions, jogging and stretching, we quickly realize that our compatriot’s bet seems very complicated to succeed. When she comments on Roland-Garros for Eurosport and Wimbledon for the BBC, we see stars in the eyes of our compatriot who even sheds a few tears when Simona Halep is crowned on the London grass. “A wonderful feeling.”

But the new Kim Clijsters is no longer the same. Tennis is no longer the only priority in his life. When she is working, her children or her dog, Oscar, are never far away and during a session with her trainer, Carl Maes, a Kim Clijsters is seen asking what time the session ends because she has to go to the market to his grandpa. Her coach has also noticed a change in Kim: “You got more empathetic, you apologized ten times in practice, you gotta stop apologizing, fuck the other side.”

”Four months of work for half a second”

This episode ends in Belmar, New Jersey where Kim retakes a physical test of sprints between fifteen-second cones. An exercise where she will improve her time by 86 hundredths. Not enough to make him smile: “four months of work for half a second is disappointing.” The tennis session was not going to raise the general atmosphere: “I am not happy with my level.”

Summary of the first episode