Three-time U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters was ousted in the second round of the 2012 event on Wednesday, effectively ending the 29-year-old's career. Defeated at Arthur Ashe Stadium by 18-year-old Brit Laura Robson in sets of 6-7 (4), 6-7 (5) , Clijsters now heads to retirement.
"This completely feels like the perfect place to retire," Clijsters said immediately after the match. "I just wish it wasn't today."
The Belgian had maintained that this U.S. Open would be her last, but the loss on Wednesday was an abrupt end to a career defined at the Grand Slam event in New York. The loss was her first in a U.S. Open since 2003.
Clijsters was one of 19 women to win the same championship at least three times in her career, her only other win coming in the 2011 Australian Open.
She ends her career with 41 WTA tour titles as a singles player, and 11 more in doubles play.
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