Two-time defending U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters has committed to play in the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open, which will take place July 30-Aug. 7 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Since turning prof in 1997, Clijsters has won 40 singles titles, including three U.S. Opens. This year, she captured five singles titles and defended her USO title in New York. The Belgian finished 2010 by defeating year-end No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win the WTA Championships in Doha, and ended the year ranked No. 3 in the world.
“She’s one of the most popular players on the tour and has always been a great fan favorite at La Costa,” said tournament director Raquel Giscafre.
In May 2007, Clijsters announced her retirement, but returned in 2009 to stage an incredible comeback, shocking the tennis world by winning the U.S. Open as an unranked wildcard.
Clijsters will be making her seventh career appearance at the La Costa Resort and Spa. She reached the singles final in Carlsbad in 2003, losing to fellow Belgian Justine Henin 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and in 2006, falling to Russia’s Maria Sharapova 7-5, 7-5.
