Clijsters Sets Retirement Date

Kim Clijsters says she will retire from professional tennis at the end of 2007.

"My body is already giving me a lot of problems," she explained.

"Maybe I will still play the (Antwerp) Diamond Games in 2008, as a goodbye tournament, but that will be it," she told Het Laatste Nieuws.

The former world No1 has been beset by injuries since 2003, a season which saw her play more than 100 singles matches - the first women's player to do that since 1974.

February saw her return from a wrist injury that had threatened to end her career but she has been hindered by a knee injury since then. That hasn't stopped her winning six titles this year, including Toronto last week. The US Open starts on Monday with Clijsters seeded fourth.

"I like to win and I put in a lot to do that but the quality of life in and outside tennis are at least as important," she said. Clijsters broke up with her boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt in October.

After thrashing compatriot and rival Justine Henin-Hardenne in Toronto, Clijsters said her Achilles tendon was giving her problems.

"It might sound odd but it's all becoming tougher on me - the tournaments, the travelling. I can't see myself playing for more than two or three years," she said.