Indian Wells: Clijsters Retires (Not Like That).

Sad news today as Kim Clijsters was forced to retire with a sore shoulder despite leading Marion Bartoli by a set.

It was a dreadful first set which frankly Bartoli could and should have won, especially as Kim clearly was not physically 100% and was rolling in her serves ready to be attacked. She took a medical timeout after going a break down and then retired from the match.

Reportedly she has been taking painkillers since the Australian Open for a pinched right shoulder and doesn’t want to play until she’s sure she can do so without damaging the shoulder further.

“I just wanted to see how it would go here,” she said. “I had treatment with my trainer, but I wasn’t playing. I had my usual mobilisations, some acupuncture, a lot of loosening up.

“In Paris, I had a really bad neck injury, which was probably a little bit related with the shoulder. Obviously something is not the way it should be in this area so I’m gonna have to figure out, have some tests and then try to solve it.”

Clijsters said her osteopath was not with her at Indian Wells but would join here in Miami for the WTA tournament starting next week.

“After Miami we have Fed Cup, which I’m taking very seriously,” the 27-year-old added. “And also obviously the clay court season, which is a very tough part of the season for the shoulders. I’m gonna have to make sure that I’m fully healed until I start playing on that surface.”

source

Get better soon, Kim.