Kim Clijsters on Home Court Pressure, Next Gen Arrivals & the US Open Mixed Doubles

Summary

Podcast Summary: Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: Kim Clijsters on Home Court Pressure, Next Gen Arrivals & the US Open Mixed Doubles

Date: July 29, 2026
Host: Claire
Guest: Kim Clijsters
Network: Served Media

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Episode Overview

This episode features tennis legend Kim Clijsters reflecting on her life in Belgium, the challenges and joys of home court pressure, the new wave of young tennis talent, and the intriguing US Open mixed doubles entry list. The discussion blends personal anecdotes, sharp tennis insights, and Kim's signature warmth and humor. The episode also touches on recent tennis headlines, evolving tournament formats, and some light-hearted "burning questions" to round out a rich, engaging conversation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Life in Belgium & Family Connections

• Kim records from a countryside farmhouse in Belgium, with sheep, horses, and pear trees—her European summer drawing to a close before her daughter Jada's championships in Sweden.
• She shares a heartfelt story about her late father, a former footballer, and a cherished note he wrote her ahead of her 2005 US Open win.
  • Quote:
    “I carry this in my wallet all the time... now I have a little added panini sticker card I can add to that.”
    — Kim Clijsters (03:05)

2. Rising Stars and First-Time Champions

• Discussion on notable young champions:
  • Lily Taggart (first WTA title at 18, now youngest in top 50 with a one-handed backhand)
  • Yeleen Van Droma (Belgium's fast-rising star)
  • Eva Jovic
• The significance of having former player Francesca Schiavone as Taggart’s coach.
  • Quote:
    “It’s really cool to see these younger players building their confidence... Tagger beating Barbora Krejcikova—that’s a huge confidence booster.”
    — Kim (05:13)

3. The Steffi Graf Parallel

• Playful banter as Claire is compared to Steffi Graf by Kim, who cites Graf as her inspiration.
  • Quote:
    “My coaches would show me Steffi videos all the time. The one-hander, the slice, the forehand—there are so many similarities.”
    — Kim (07:16)

4. Home Court Pressure: Antwerp & Tiafoe

• Kim reflects on the pressures of performing in front of a home crowd, referencing Antwerp’s sold-out weeks and expectations.
• She empathizes with Frances Tiafoe’s struggles at the D.C. event, likening sponsor, family, and crowd pressures.
  • Quote:
    “It was stressful and I felt pressure... I felt responsible to try and, like, I’m not saying save the tournament, but at least be there and give the crowd what they’re hoping for.”
    — Kim (08:22)

5. US Open Mixed Doubles—The Superstar Lineup

• Claire and Kim break down the high-profile teams:
  • Djokovic/Sabalenka, Draper/Pegula, Townsend/Zverev, Rybakina/Fritz, Ruud/Świątek, Tiafoe/Osaka, Medvedev/Anisimova, and others.
• Notable storylines: Novak Djokovic’s participation, injury questions around Jack Draper, Taylor Townsend & Ben Shelton not teaming up, doubles qualifying now a part of “fan week.”
  • Quote:
    “Novak and Sabalenka is super exciting... that friendship grow, for them to play together, for Novak to make that decision.”
    — Kim (13:03)
  • “It’s only a two-day event… makes it appealing for the top players. Might as well play some mixed doubles and work on my serve and return.”
    — Kim (18:01)

6. Doubles’ Place in Tennis Culture and Social Media

• The ATP’s lack of doubles coverage—only 1% of social posts—sparks a call for greater promotion.
• Emerging social media creators, like player-partner Ellie Magelli and Luisa Castillo, are making doubles more accessible.
  • Quote:
    “It’s not just all bells and whistles for the players everywhere... it’s a part of the tennis world people need to see.”
    — Kim (20:45)

7. Next Gen Arrivals and Tennis Legacies

• The remarkable appearance of second-generation players in the D.C. draw: Cruz Hewitt, Ben Shelton, and Martin Damm Jr.—whose fathers played the 1997 Australian Open together.
• Kim discusses growing up with a famous parent, handing off the spotlight, and the value of mentorship and emotional stability from experienced figures.
  • Quote:
    “It’s incredible... just shows how important it is to have experience, whether from a parent or mentor, on your side.”
    — Kim (23:28)

8. Tennis Ball Controversy: New Trials

• ATP to trial more frequent ball changes (every 5 and 7 games, rather than 7 and 9) in response to player feedback about ball wear and injury risk on gritty surfaces.
• Kim admits she never overthought ball or string choices, relying on feel and instinct instead.
  • Quote:
    “I just wasn’t overthinking it like that. Maybe I should have done a little bit more...”
    — Kim (28:25)

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Burning Questions with Kim

9. Jannik Sinner Sitting Out Toronto

• Sinner opts to skip Toronto, prioritizing rest for a Cincinnati and US Open run despite a shot at Masters 1000 history.
  • Quote:
    “That just shows maybe there’s something going on behind the scenes we’re not ready to know... I think it’s a very, very smart choice.”
    — Kim (32:21)

10. Tour Life: Loving the Game, Not the Misery

• Kim challenges the narrative that tennis players are miserable, highlighting her own joy and camaraderie.
  • Quote:
    “For the years that I played, I really loved it. And then when I was ready to hang up... there were definitely a few months where I was like, all right, I’m done.”
    — Kim (38:40)

11. Peaking for the US Open

• Kim always played to win every match, rarely thinking strategically about tournament peaking.
  • Quote:
    “Whatever match I played, I wanted to win... I just always gave it my all.”
    — Kim (40:25)

12. The Open Stance Debate in Recreational Tennis

• Open stance vs. closed stance: for most amateurs, focus less on technique, more on getting the ball back and not overthinking.
  • Quote:
    “When you get to the point where you have to think, 'should I hit open or closed?'—it’s so complicated... Coaches at that level needn’t worry too much about it.”
    — Kim (42:48)

13. Off-Court Hobbies & Keeping Tennis Fun

• Kim shares how off-court interests (concerts, NBA games, travel adventures) balanced her tennis life, keeping burnout at bay.
  • Quote:
    “I enjoyed playing so much because I could really turn off my tennis brain at times.”
    — Kim (47:02)

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Notable and Memorable Moments

• Kim reveals her comfort item—a cherished note from her father—kept in her wallet for two decades. (03:05)
• Lighthearted talk about Steffi Graf and Kim’s own childhood tennis inspirations. (07:16)
• Exploring the glam and grind of the tennis circuit: from Antwerp’s diamond rackets to doubles players’ daily realities. (08:22; 20:45)
• Kim’s steadfast, joyful approach to pro tennis, subverting the “miserable player” trope. (38:40)
• Comic relief as Kim discusses her near-obsessive love for Belgium’s “Spa” bottled water and water taste tests. (49:22)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:05 – Kim’s story about her father’s US Open note
• 04:53–06:25 – Young talents: Lily Taggart, Yeleen Van Droma
• 08:17–09:45 – Home court pressure in Antwerp; Tiafoe’s DC struggles
• 12:12–13:56 – US Open Mixed Doubles: team analysis, Djokovic/Sabalenka
• 18:01–19:43 – Mixed Doubles’ two-day format & addressing doubles relevance
• 22:38–23:28 – Next gen/legacy players’ impact
• 26:19–28:25 – Tennis ball change trial, ball/string preferences
• 32:21 – Sinner sits out Toronto; managing schedules for majors
• 38:40 – Tennis “misery” narrative, Kim’s joyful approach
• 40:25 – Peaking for big tournaments
• 42:48–44:32 – Open vs. closed stance for rec players
• 47:02 – Kim’s off-court hobbies and travel adventures

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Conclusion

This episode offers a heartfelt, witty, and detailed inside look at the state of professional tennis through the eyes of Kim Clijsters. From personal stories of home and family to a methodical unpacking of next-gen stars, mixed doubles politics, and the fine details of tennis life, Kim is candid, upbeat, and generous with her reflections. Whether you’re a casual fan or tennis obsessive, this episode delivers equal parts expert knowledge, nostalgia, and relatable humor.

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Original Language and Tone: All quotes are presented as spoken. Claire’s conversational, light banter balances Kim’s warmth and candor, creating an engaging, insightful listen for tennis fans and newcomers alike.

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For more tennis content, follow Served with Andy Roddick and Love All Podcast across all major platforms.

Transcript

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[Claire]

Here we go.

[Kim Kleister]

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Love all maybe. As you can see, I'm in an old little farmhouse in Belgium last few days before Jada goes off to Sweden for her European championships. And we follow her in a couple of days. So, yeah, I feel like my European part of the trip is slowly coming to an end.

[Claire]

I feel like that's the perfect backdrop for it. Kim, that looks like it's straight out of a magazine.

[Sponsor Voice]

Really.

[Claire]

I wish I was. Yes, I wish I was there. That looks like a great vacation spot.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, we have sheep around us, horses, cows, a lot of pear trees, and it's a beautiful place to be at. Just no air conditioning, so hence the glistening of my skin.

[Claire]

You have stayed consistent in that being the only negative. No air conditioning. But good news, Kim. The dewy look is very in. So. So the glistening is. Is good.

[Kim Kleister]

All right, thanks.

[Claire]

Sure. And you also, just before we went on air, showed us something that you came across, I guess. Anyway, I want. I would love for our listeners to be able to hear it because I thought it was so cool.

[Kim Kleister]

Well, a couple of days ago, Blake, he collects the panini stickers for the World cup book. And, and he opened one that and a card and he says, hey, Opa. Like, this is my dad right there, and that's from England against Belgium in 1990. So he opened that. So. And I have a little, little plastic kind of. Whatever do you call that little folder where I keep some of the things in my wallet that were from my dad. And I have a note in here that's like old, but it's from 2005. And when my dad never visited me, like when I was playing at the US Open, and he came to. To Stanford and San Diego and then he flew home, so. And I was still in San Diego, and he kind of just said, hey, Kim, sleep well. It was a. It was a great two weeks. Two more weeks of hard work and you'll be first in the series and then you can win the US Open. Greetings to Brian. Kisses, dad. I'm still tired. You're a beautiful, great daughter. Just a little messy. Like, that's what he wrote. So I carry this in my wallet all the time, and now I have a little added panini sticker card that I can add to that. So, yeah, he's.

[Claire]

And then you did win the US Open is the punchline here.

[Kim Kleister]

That's the. That's the craziness. Like, I actually did win it and I won the US Open series. I was. That was like the first time where they did that, I think if you won the series and it was like double prize money if you wanted. And so I ended up winning it that year. So that's always in my wallet with me.

[Claire]

That is so cute. And also, like, I need to fan myself, so I. So I don't get teary. That's so special. So thanks for sharing that with us.

[Sponsor Voice]

Thanks.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah.

[Claire]

All right, Kim. Well, shall we get into what we've got going on this week? Things are heating up, figuratively and literally. We had some first time champions last week, so we had, uh, Luca Van Ash winning in Estheril, Alice and Kitzpule. Side note, did you see the kids Fuel trophy, Kim?

[Kim Kleister]

I did not.

[Claire]

It is a bedazzled deer. And I'm just gonna put it on record that should anyone want to send me, you know, I don't know, a bedazzled deer.

[Kim Kleister]

A little replicates.

[Claire]

But it's so funny that it's a men's tournament and they're, you know, hoisting this sparkly deer. Anyway, that's a story for another day. But also on the women's side, Lily Taggart won her first title at just 18 years old. And Tammy Korpatch also won in Hamburg. So curious if you have any thoughts on those results. What stuck out to you?

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, well, I definitely think Lily Tagger's win was something that, you know, really stood out for me and was. Was very exciting to. To see. And, you know, I feel like it was already a couple months ago, right. Right before the French Open that we had her coach, Francesca Schiavone on. And just to Hear her talk about their partnership and, and the relationship between a player and coach, like a former player who's been working with her for, for quite some time now already. And to see it, you know, have, you know, the results that, you know, take the steps where you wanted to go at such a young age is really, really great to see and, and happy for the two of them. And yeah, I feel like, you know, there's a couple of youngsters that are doing really well and from that age I think Yeleen Van Droma from Belgium also, she, she's Now I think 130 in the world, like going up in the rankings. So really nice to see some of the youngsters really. Yeah, doing well. I think they're from the same, same year and I think Eva Jovic is obviously the number one in that spot. But yeah, really cool to see that these younger players are building their confidence and learning from the matches that they're playing against these top players. Lily Tagger beating Barbora Krychikova as well, which is a huge confidence booster knowing that you can, you know, beat some of those players. So it's yeah, really, really interesting to see and I think, you know, these are definitely, you know, Lily and Yeleen, they're definitely some of the youngsters that I have my eye on and see always see like when they, you know, when they're in a draw, like who do they play and you know, what is that matchup like?

[Claire]

Yeah, she, Tagger is now the youngest in the top 50 and also the highest ranked player with a one handed backhand. Kim Live, the one hander. So love to see it. I love see it in more ways than one.

[Kim Kleister]

If people saw Blair's post, when was it? A couple days ago. Like I never realized, like I've seen you hit tennis balls but like a lot of comparisons to Steffi Graf. Like I love it.

[Claire]

Kim. This will be the first and last time anyone uses my name and Steffi Graf in the same sentence.

[Kim Kleister]

No, no, no, you can't tell me

[Claire]

that nobody clip that for me and just let me listen to it and watch it whenever I'm feeling down.

[Kim Kleister]

Blair, you can't tell me that nobody has ever shown you like that you did not try to like move like, like Steffi.

[Claire]

No, I tried to move like you Kim and you saw in if you. No joke.

[Kim Kleister]

Well, Steffi was my inspiration. Was my inspiration. Like Carl used to show me Steffi videos all the time. But I felt like the one hander, the slice like the forehand, like there's so many similarities. So for those who are curious, go. Go back. Or maybe you should just post it on. On one of your. Whatever you call that.

[Claire]

Not see what I do. Oh, my gosh. Well, I appreciate that, Kim. And we get to now go into what's happening this week, some of our other headlines, and then I get to ask him my burning questions, which includes Jannik Sinner's decision to sit out in Toronto. So we'll get to that in just a bit. But the DC Draws this week, Kim, are probably the most notable results to come out of dc. It's obviously early in the week, but it was the fact that Francis Tiafo lost to Terrence Attman in three sets. And we've talked about this before, Kim, but you liked playing in front of your home crowd. But can it not also be stressful? Was it ever stressful for you or it was all positive?

[Kim Kleister]

No, it's definitely stressful. I. I remember especially after the Australian Open, we had, you know, the biggest tournament that we've had in Belgium was in Antwerp and talking about, you know, what you mentioned before, the bedazzled trophy of the. Of the deer, we had the diamond tennis racket that was like the big trophy there. And I loved it. Like, it was stressful and I felt pressure and. Because, you know, from the moment that the tickets were, you know, being. Being sold within 45 minutes, the whole week was sold out. So I felt pressure of, like, oh, they're expecting me to be there in the final. And the same for Justine, like, she played it a couple of times as well, and it was. So I felt pressure in that sense. Right, for the tournament, for the sponsors, like, a lot of the people I knew, like, personally. And. And so I felt very responsible to try and, like, I'm not saying save the tournament, but at least, like, you know, yeah, be there and. And give the crowd what they are hoping for. And so it made me very locked in a lot of times. I also, because it was so close to either FedCap at the time or. Or the Australian Open. I always. I remember being in Antwerp and, like, having to call the doctor, like, always came up with, like, a little throat infection or a little flu is flu y, like, after the long flight. So it was a lot in a short amount of time. But I love playing there. Love playing with some of my greatest emotions on court or before, like, walking out of, like, goosebumps, like, almost in tears of, like, the overwhelming support I experienced there in Antwerp.

[Claire]

Yeah. And I know that Francis has a lot of those feelings as well. And I mean, who knows how many tickets they're giving Francis because he is friends with pretty much the entire city. Yeah, the state, yes, the whole District of Columbia. But yeah, I know that he has never performed as well as he has wanted to perform in D.C. and I do wonder if there is pressure just associated with the fact that he feels pressure based on sponsors and friends and people coming to support him to do well at his home tournament. So always interesting to see both sides of that debate.

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[Kim Kleister]

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[Claire]

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[Kim Kleister]

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[Claire]

Welcome. The US Open has announced the entry list for the mixed doubles tournament this year. It's the second year of this revised mixed doubles format and the entries are open until August 17th. So there is still time to add and subtract to this list. But I am going to read to you these teams. Kim and I would love to get your reactions. Are you ready for this?

[Kim Kleister]

Yes.

[Claire]

Djokovic Savalenka Draper, Pegula, Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns. That is her brother who is currently playing at Ohio State. The Ohio State University Taylor Townsend and Zverev Rybakina Taylor, Fritz Bencic, Kaboli Irani, Vavasori, Ayala Ojay Aliassim Rude, Witek Fernandez, Tiafo Osaka Nishikori Schneider, Medvedev Anisimova Tien Cynia Kova, Henry Patton I I well, I'm going to let you get your thoughts on that first, but Ruse and Vorcic, a love match there. Andreva and Rublev. Curious which ones stick out to you?

[Kim Kleister]

I mean, the first one, obviously Novak and Sabalenka is super exciting. I think, you know, we've seen them, their relationship, like, over, you know, the last couple of years. I feel like very like, you know, blossom in a way that very open, very playful from the dances to, you know, even I feel like the support from both sides. And I think Novak, I think Sabalenka has shared how Novak has given her his, you know, given. Given her advice on, you know, how to deal with some of the mental things and things like that. So it's been really nice to see that. That friendship grow and for them to play together and for Novak to make that decision. I feel like to. To play right before is something that, you know, I don't think he's done. He didn't play last year, right, at the US Open, so I don't. So that, that's, yeah, very interesting to see him take. Take on that approach. Caspar, Rood and IGA played last year, right? Did they make the final?

[Claire]

Yeah, they sure did.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah. I mean, maybe Jesse Pegula might need to look for someone else because the chances that Jack is going to be healthy, I don't know if that's going to happen.

[Claire]

Which is crazy though, Kim, because if you think back to last year, he wasn't fully fit either. He played mixed. Played one main draw match and pulled out. So I feel like this, It's. It's crazy to think that he still. Draper is still having these major injury issues. It's such a bummer for him. But anyway, continue.

[Kim Kleister]

No, I think it's definitely a bummer. And I just. To go into. Into that kind of situation, I feel like, you know, I'm so curious, like, how the team is approaching that. And like, I would just love to know, like, how, you know, what's happening there, like, is, you know, are you the guys turning him inside out so you can see, like, what's the deal? Like, food, is it? Whatever it is, like recovery training types. Yeah, just very interesting. And I would love to kind of hear and. And, you know, talk, get. Get somebody's input, somebody from the team to talk a little bit about that because it's. It's so strange in a way for such a, you know, great athlete to, to be injured for so long and to go from one injury to the other and it almost feels like, okay, where, like, what's he doing wrong? Like, you know, and, and so, yeah, anyway, different has nothing to do with mixed doubles, but maybe, maybe the US Open organizers are already. Yeah. Looking for maybe a replacement and that's fun. And then I was also looking at. I think people were looking forward to Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton to play together, but that, that didn't end up happening. So yeah, I mean definitely those, those two are the ones that I'm excited to watch. Just looking on my phone here to the list.

[Claire]

Sunia Kova and Patton Kim. Watch the heck out for those two. I know Arani and Babasuri will have something to say about that, but I just think that they are going to be the team to beat both Patton and Cineacova.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Claire]

So fun though. And, and this doesn't even comprise the whole list. We're obviously going to see. You know, Yannick Sinner is not on this list, nor is Carlos Alcaraz or Venus and or Serena Ven played last year with Riley Opelka. So we could see more. We've. We also know that it's been reported that this tournament has been potentially used as leverage for players who still want to see a bigger piece of the revenue pie. Yannick Sinner is the name that was specifically associated with that. But just so people know, the draw will eventually feature six teams with the best combined singles ranking, eight wild card teams, plus two teams that can play their way through the qualifying tournament, which is a new thing because why, why not throw a doubles qualifying tournament to fan week at the US Open? That is going to be Monday the 24th. So again, fan week remains the best ticket in tennis. And by ticket I mean it's free. So it's, it's such great value obviously to get into specific events. You are actually buying tickets for those, but I imagine I'll have to get confirmation. But that qualifying tournament is free admission. Uh, and what an incredible way for people to get introduced to the sport.

[Kim Kleister]

Claire, have you seen anything about the prize money for the doubles? Is it still. What was it last year, $1 million for the winners? Is it still the same this year?

[Claire]

I have not heard that the prize money is any different because the press

[Kim Kleister]

release doesn't mention any prize money at the moment. So we'll see if that.

[Claire]

Interesting. So could that be part of the bargaining tool? We shall see.

[Kim Kleister]

Yes.

[Claire]

But I'm excited. And also, by the way, Kim, it just sort of underscores how difficult it is to make any change in tennis because just Jannik Sinner saying he's not going to play mixed doubles is not going to move the needle at the end of the day it's just so difficult to get a bunch of individual athletes to get on board for the exact same thing. So.

[Kim Kleister]

And it's only a two day event either like as well. Right. So that's, you know, makes it a lot more appealing for the top players. Like a Novak that says, okay, yeah, I'll play some. Instead of, you know, playing a two and a half, three hour practice against Zverev where we play a couple of sets, you know, might as well play some mixed doubles and work on my serve and return and, and kind of get that routine back, you know, get used to that again. So yeah, it's an interesting format and I, I definitely think I would have loved playing it. I always loved playing mixed doubles when I played and it just took a lot of time away from, you know, when you had the, the two week event, it just took so much time away from your recovery. When I was younger, like they didn't have, you know, the, the roofs on, on any of the, of the stadium court. So a lot of times you were waiting and waiting around and, and your already, you know, recovered and done playing and ready for a semifinal of a Grand Slam. So this makes it definitely a lot more appealing to a lot of the top players as well.

[Claire]

Speaking of Devils, Kim, have you seen on social media that DC is doing a whole lot of Devils content on social media? They're doing the mic'd up matches.

[Kim Kleister]

I saw that and I also, I've seen some like online clips about the ATP not, not supporting doubles. I think since I don't know for how many years, but out of all their posts it was like 1% of doubles that was promoted. Like those are pretty harsh numbers. And, and yeah, it definitely opened my eyes up a little bit as well. And, and so understandable that there's, understanding that there's frust definitely a lot of frustration from a big, big part of the tennis world.

[Claire]

And I would love nothing more than to think that this discussion has actually changed the way that tennis is covered on social media. That a larger piece of that pie in terms of coverage is going to go to Devils players. Why not see what happens and then you can go from there. So I thought that that was a really neat development. And also if listeners are wanting to follow more doubles, there are a couple of girlfriends on tour. One is named Ellie, the other Louisa. Ellie Magelli is her handle but she is covering her boyfriend's doubles career. And I'm telling you you can learn more about doubles watching her social media videos than Probably a lot of other things that you can do online. The other name is Luisa Castillo, who is the girlfriend of one of the Brazilian doubles players or Orlando Luz. So there are resources out there, and I think if people can sort of get on board, who knows what's possible in terms of popularizing not only doubles, but doubles players.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, for sure. And it also shows, like, the. The hard work and the grind that they have to put in to, you know, to get to their tournaments. And it's not the private jets and it's not the luxury hotel rooms. Like, it's a part of the tennis world that, you know, people, I think, need to see as well and understand that it's not just all, you know, bells and whistles for the players everywhere. Like, it's. I. I like seeing that part, and I wish they didn't have to go through that, but it just shows the identity of our sport for part as well.

[Claire]

Totally. And just one more quick thing to add to that, Kim, I. When we initially talked about doubles, I think I made a blanket statement explaining that these tournaments are paying for the players. And I think I might have mentioned physios, just for clarity's sake. At the tour level, the tournament gives one hotel room per player. So for a doubles team, the tournament is responsible for two hotel rooms. So I just want to make sure I had the facts correct on that, which, again, is still a lot of money when you add it all up in terms of transport and laundry and all the other things, food, that players are offered on site. But just wanted to make sure I had the facts right on that. Kim, the next gen has arrived. This is a tweet from Oleg. Anna K. Forever on X. He is a fantastic tennis resource, if you don't already follow him, but he was tweeting that. Let's see. Cruise Hewitt, Ben Shelton and Martin Dom Jr. Are in the D.C. draw. And the 1997 Australian Open featured Leighton Hewitt, Martin Dom Senior and Brian Shelton. And to think that. That it's happening. They are here, they are playing. We're seeing the progeny of these incredible players now competing on their own. How wild is that for you? Knowing the parents, it's crazy.

[Kim Kleister]

And knowing, you know how hard it is, right? Like, knowing how hard it is to get to that level and for kids, I feel like at this stage or at this. In this time and day. How do you say that? In this era or in this.

[Claire]

Yeah, day and age. Yeah, sure.

[Kim Kleister]

Day and age. It's. It's. I feel like it's. Yeah. Even harder to commit to a sport and to be fully invested and have no distractions. And so to see that and is, yeah, incredible. And I love seeing it. It's, you know, it's a little bit of the. I feel like LeBron Bronnie kind of story in the NBA, and maybe we'll get to see it with Tatiana Maria and her daughter in a few years on the. On the women's tour. That would be incredible. And a first. Right? On the women's tour, I guess, right? That would be. Yeah.

[Claire]

At the same time, I think.

[Kim Kleister]

Yes, for sure. Yeah. So, yeah, just really fun to watch. And I think Cruz already. Okay. He didn't win the Wimbledon Juniors, but he won or. But he got to the final there. And. And it's just. Yeah, it's just great to see and. And, you know, Ben and his dad, like, that relationship. I grew up with a. With a dad, but not in the same. Same sport. Like, my dad was a, you know, a good. A good soccer player, football player here in Belgium, and our family was always a little bit in the spotlight already because of my dad. And then when I kind of overtook that kind of fame part a little bit, my dad felt very relieved because he hated it. And I feel like on our situation, it's like, you know, now Jada's doing that, and, you know, I go to her games and, like, she's signing autographs, and I'm like, yes, this is so great. So it's. It's. It's really nice. And I love. I love that for the, you know, the next generation. And it just shows, like, how important it is to, you know, to have, you know, the experience, whether it's from a parent or a mentor or whatever it is, like, on your side. Like, I think there is nothing more that, you know, that you can teach a kid from a younger generation, like Francesca Schiavone is doing with Lily Taggart. Like, it's so meaningful to have somebody who's done that before, who's been there, who knows, you know, the kid and can kind of. Yeah. Also stay very kind of even keel emotionally through it. All right. Because, you know, like, the stresses that it brings. And I think it's important that, like, the parents and the people around. Around, you know, just like that, gone through it and know how to handle those situations, because a lot of time there's parents who've never. Never experienced it, they get even more nervous than the kid, and they get so tied up in all this and the stresses and the. And the good emotions, but also the bad emotions sometimes. And we've seen, you know, the negative side of, of, you know, crazy parents as well on the tennis tour. And so these kind of stories are really nice to see where. Yeah, I love seeing it. So it's definitely. The next gen has arrived.

[Claire]

I have one tennis nerd headline for you, Kim, and that is that the ATP next week at the Lexington Challenger is trialing changing balls at five and seven games versus seven and nine games. And at the moment it is just this one week trial at a challenger event in response to complaints, I think it's fair to say from players about the quality of the balls, about how quickly they wear out. And so the ATP is listening. They are making this not a permanent change yet, but they're at least going to trial it. And I am curious if you think that that is going to turn into something permanent.

[Kim Kleister]

Well, I feel like the issue about the tennis balls has been a big issue for a long time. Right. Like it's, it's the changes of the tennis balls throughout the, you know, the different tournaments and the big tournaments. And I don't know what's the deal there now. Do you know that like, are we using the same balls at every, every tournament?

[Claire]

No, but they've tried to make it so that it's the same chunk of tournaments. So like at the beginning of the year it's the Dunlop ball. This time of the year is the Wilson US Open ball. So they've tried to make it so that it's consistent in different chunks of the season.

[Kim Kleister]

But at least now on the, on the, let's say the US Open, hard courts, like it's all the same, the same ball.

[Claire]

Yes.

[Kim Kleister]

Okay, okay. But a lot of times, you know, when you resurface the, the courts. Right. Like you have the, the gritty kind of the. Yeah, they're a fresh hard court, is very rough.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Kim Kleister]

It's. So the balls will definitely, yeah. Wear down a lot quicker and, and, and that becomes, you know, more. When they get a little bit more fluffy and it's harder for the shoulder, for the elbow. Like there's, you know, the impact on the strings is, gets, is so big that, you know, there's you, you just can't use the slice as well. You can't do the kick serve as well anymore. So it takes away from the quality of the tennis. So I think it's, it's maybe, you know, maybe not a bad idea, especially, you know, on, on such a rough surface.

[Claire]

Did you have a ball that you preferred?

[Kim Kleister]

No, Blair, I. Listen, I Would, like, literally show up at press conferences and get asked about court. Like, slow courts, fast chords, the balls being heavier, like. Like, smaller, bigger. I'm like, what are they talking about? How did. I was like, whatever. Like, if I felt like the balls were, you know, if I felt like my. My. The depth of my shot, I was like, all right, let me just add a half a kilo to my strings. Like, I just wasn't. Or I'll just put a little more spin on it. Like, that's. That's how my reasoning was. Like, I just never really thought about, like, my favorite ball or.

[Claire]

But that probably was to your benefit, that you were not wasting time on something you could not control.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, Yeah. I wasn't overthinking it like that. Definitely not. Maybe I should have done a little bit more of thinking about those kind of things. But I felt like if I had, you know, a couple of, like, different tensions in my racket bag, like, rackets with different tensions, I was good to go. Like, I knew if I, you know, was not playing freely or if I was, like, hitting the ball freely, and. And the balls were, like, a little bit long, I was like, all right, let me go up, like, half a kilo or a kilo. And then I was like, okay, my arm is still moving freely, and now they're falling in instead of a little bit long. And so that was basically my way of thinking. Also. I played with natural gut for my whole career, and I felt like it was just easier to feel with the natural strings. For me, the sound as well. I could feel when the sound was off or when my strings lost some tension and whatever, for whatever reason that was. So, yeah, just kind of listened to my instinct, I guess, a little bit more than all the proper, you know, numbers and whatever they do now, whatever.

[Claire]

Whatever those people are doing. But, no, I think it's about time, to be honest. I don't see a world in which this does not become a permanent thing unless there is an objection from the financial standpoint. But I actually texted a chair umpire friend who said that the changing of the balls at seven and then every nine games thereafter, that dates back to at least 1990, probably before. He wasn't exactly positive when that change began. The number of things that have changed in terms of racket technology and string technology since then. Bonkers. So this does seem like it's keeping up with the other things that have changed in the sport in terms of tools and technology.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah. And will definitely help a lot of players when it comes to, like, the the impact that it has on the shoulder, wrists, elbows like definitely will will benefit the players.

[Sponsor Voice]

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Now.

[Claire]

Can we move Kim into my burning questions for you?

[Kim Kleister]

Sure.

[Claire]

All right, well, let's start off by talking about Jannik Senner, who made headlines when he decided he was not going to be playing in Canada this year. He has won the first five ATV Masters 1000s of the year. He had a chance to become the first ever to run the table. He says no to history. I'm going to rest up and make sure I'm ready to go in Cincinnati and the U.S. open. Your thoughts?

[Kim Kleister]

I think that just shows that he, you know, that maybe there's something going on behind the scenes that we're not ready. Like maybe he's not just not physically or mentally ready to, after, after winning Wimbledon to go back and, you know, just compete again at such an intense high level. Right. Because these, these tournaments are just, you know, if not in a shorter amount of time, like you play a lot of, you know, a lot of tennis, intense matches and I think it's a very, very smart choice. And knowing the team around him and Darren, the way that they work, I'm sure they've thought about it enough like, for, for a while, but then, you know, it's always with what's coming up in the back of your mind, like, and, and, you know, winning the US Open is obviously going to be his, his biggest goal for, you know, the, the next few weeks of what's coming up in the States. And if he, yeah, if he's, you know, that's the goal is to be ready there and, and not get burned. Burned out mentally and. Or physically. You know, because you want to win another Masters to try and break the record. Like I think he will break plenty of records or he has been breaking plenty of records. And I think it's, it's just very smart to think about like, what's the most important thing and not get distracted by. Yeah. Being the number one to ever do this or that. And I just, I think it's a. Yeah, a smart choice, but I'm sure it wasn't easy.

[Claire]

Yeah. And just to give some context on that, thanks to producer Mike. In 2003, when Andy ran the table on the pre US Open events, so he won in Canada, Cincinnati and then the US Open. Those three tournaments spanned 28 days. And in 2026, those three tournaments span 44 days. So when you think about the players who are expected to be holding the trophy at the end and knowing that you could possibly be holding the trophy at the end of those three events, that is an exceptionally long period of time to be at peak performance level. Because I'm sure you can tell the listeners, Kim, even if you have a day off in between matches, you're still at a tournament. You are not switching off the, the competitive gear.

[Kim Kleister]

No, you still go to practice, you still go to the gym. You know, you have your team with you, you're doing your treatments, your recovery and you don't have time to do anything else. Right. You want to save your energy because you know it's going to be such a long block. And to me, like, yeah, I just, I know that these tournaments are longer from when I was younger, but it's crazy to think, you know, how, how many more days they've added. Like it's, it's almost double, you know, the amount of time. So it's just, especially on the, on towards this stage of the, of. Of the year where, you know, we know that the play at the US Open, you know, players are starting to get a little bit tired. It's been a long year. Although a lot of them have gone on vacation and we've seen the portraits

[Claire]

noted on this podcast. People have had vacations this year, definitely.

[Kim Kleister]

So. Yeah, but it's, it's just, it's a, it's a tough part of the year. I remember for everybody. And you have especially there's, you know, a few of the top players who are not making the, the WTA finals yet or on the, on the ATP. What do they call it on the ATP Side the ATP Finals? Yeah, same that they, you know, a lot of them are trying to play more tournaments than May. They. They maybe want to. To just make sure that they have enough points to get in. And then sometimes there's a. Between two players to get there and stuff. So it's, it becomes interesting. But at the same time, it's also tiring, stressful, and, and, but it's, it's. I feel like, to me, it was always, you know, almost the best part of the year was, you know, playing, you know, getting ready for the US Open and, And knowing that it was, you know, the last Grand Slam of the year really helped me to push, you know, through a little bit harder. Even though, you know, you may be tired or you have some more aches and pains that you just weren't really had the time to like, like, let heal throughout the year. And, and so, you know, it's, it's, it's just how you look at it, right? Like, some players are like, oh, man, it's tired. I'm tired. It's the end of the year, it's been a long year, and I've done well so far. Like, for some players, that can be a mindset, too, where it's harder to push through, whereas I felt like, for me, it was like, all right, let's go. Like, you know, let's. Let's do well here and, and, and then, yeah, get ready for, you know, the WTA Finals and just always love this, really love this part of the year. I love playing tennis. I feel like there was never really a part where I didn't enjoy playing. Like, yeah, I love it. Yeah. I just felt very lucky that I got to do all that stuff like

[Claire]

that. I mean, that shouldn't sound like a novel concept, but, you know, there is a book that just came out. Matt Futterman of the Athletic wrote it called the Cruelest Game, and he was talking about. Of the things that he realized in talking to a lot of tennis players is just how miserable they are. There are a lot of really unhappy tennis players out there. So to hear you say that, I think is. Is counter to some of the feedback that we sometimes get about tour life.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, no, I just. I just loved playing and traveling and. And again, I was also, you know, very young when I started, and I feel like for me, I always tried to have a little bit of normalcy from home by, you know, my cousin Tim was, you know, my physio at the time, and like, for him, going to New York was like this big deal so I could relive it through him and kind of see the, The. The. Yeah. The greatness of, you know, these tournaments and being a part of it. And so it never really got old. You know, there were definitely state, like, moments where it was frustrating when you have injuries and you're trying to come back from an injury and it's not working the way that you want things to go. But I just really, yeah, enjoyed the lifestyle and, and playing and until I didn't. And then I also, in my head, like, it's really hard for me then to push, you know, so for the years that I played, I really loved it. And then when I was ready to hang up, like, there were definitely a few months where I was like, all right, I'm done. Like, this is not the way that I want to compete out there.

[Claire]

They needed to have you on the Netflix documentary Breakpoint Kim, because that is one of my theories on why that did not succeed. But the other half of that theory is that I don't think the Netflix production staff knew enough about the inner workings and all the various storylines that are knit together to form the tour. But I think the other piece of it was when they, like, started to dig deep into these players lives. It was kind of lonely and sad. So they needed a little bit of Kim Kleister's sprinkled in.

[Kim Kleister]

Yeah, I mean, listen, I don't. Yeah, I don't think, you know, and, like, I feel like now a lot of the players, especially on the women's side, they're so, like, they're close and they have friends, and I see them going out and, like, we didn't do that back in the day, I feel like. And it was more like my. My team, but I was close with my team, like, and. And we had the best time. Like, we laughed and we had fun. We knew when to work hard and just to have that balance of. Of, like, being buddies on the road and. And acting. Yeah. Like little kids at times. But also, like, it just. We just had a fun time and. But, you know, again, like, you worked hard as well, and that was, you know, just as obviously the most important thing. But we never forgot what we were doing and what the goal was. Was. But, yeah, it's just, you know, it was just, I guess, installed in me or just. I just grew up like that, like, just seeing the good and. And not worrying too much about the negative stuff.

[Claire]

Did you consciously think about peeking at the US Open, or was it just. I'm taking it one match at a Time I'm going to try to win every match that's in front of me. Or were you actually thinking about building towards that US Open trophy?

[Kim Kleister]

No, I. Whatever match I played, I wanted to win, and I would go into a full split even if I, you know, was. If it was unreachable and, like, my team would be like, why are you doing this? The US Open's coming up in a few weeks. And. But it just. Yeah, it was just. I just always gave it my all, like, and I couldn't. Couldn't even think about, like, not trying my best in, you know, in my matches. And, you know, there were definitely matches where I felt like, oh, you know, I was. Was, you know, not feeling great or just a little bit exhausted or, you know, after having Jada, like, there were definitely moments where, you know, it was just harder to be fully. Like, I wasn't at my best at, you know, giving it my all. But I think in general, like, what I heard the most in my tennis career from when I was a little girl was to take it easy. Like, that's what they always told me. All my coaches were like, take it easy. If I had to warm up my. My shoulder, like, or the. Like, if we had to warm up the smash, like, Carl would be like, Kim, 50% is enough. Like, it doesn't have to be 95% or 100% from the first lob that I'm feeding you. Like, so that was just me, like, from the get go. And, yeah, would always run down the balls that were a meter out, you know, just to try to get there. And it just. I've always heard people say, like, it's okay, just don't overdo it. But, yeah, I love that.

[Claire]

Yeah, I was gonna say something. We're gonna. Okay, we're moving on. On to the next topic. That was great. We talked Kim, last week about the best and worst tennis advice that we had received. And I then posted that question on my social media. And the one topic that was repeated several times was people talking about the open stance. I assume forehand. Just in general, they were mentioning open stance. Some people were saying that's the worst advice they had ever gotten was to try to hit open stance. And some people said the worst advice was not being told they should hit an open stance forehand. And I am wondering. Now, granted, we're not talking about people playing on tour here. Much respect to my followers, but I had no professionals answering this question. We're probably talking about rec players. Do you think the open stance is Something that someone who's playing, you know, four or five league tennis needs to be thinking about.

[Kim Kleister]

I think when you get to a point where you have to think about, oh, should I hit an open or a closed stand? Like, I think it's. It's so complicated, and I can imagine before you've even hit the ball that you're in your head, like, trying to, you know, the positioning of your feet. Like, it's. It's. For us, it's so normal to talk about, like, because it's. It's automatic pilot. Like, we do this with our eyes closed. And. But I can imagine that for a lot of players, it's like, basically like hitting a serve at a certain level. Like, there's so many steps to think about. I loved hitting an open stand, especially because I, you know, Carl used to say that I was, like, allergic to the net. He's like, why did you, like, do a close stand and just move into the net, like, run, run forward? And so I. I gravitated towards the open stance a little bit too fast at times, I think, But I just loved it. Like, I felt like I could, you know, with my backhand, too. Like, I feel like I could go down the line with it, like, and surprise my opponent a little bit, because it's kind of an unnatural kind of direction from that position. But then also, I feel like I could flick my wrist to hit it, you know, to hit a cross court very well. And so I've always loved hitting an open stance, but I can definitely see that it's very complicated at a certain level. And you have to think about, like, ooh, like, how should I move? Should I step in here and put my left foot forward on the forehand, or should I, you know, put. Stick my right foot out and just be in an open stand? And the timing is a little bit different of it as well. So it just changes your whole kind of momentum and your rhythm in the shot. So, yeah, I don't think coaches at that level need to worry too much about.

[Claire]

I always think if you. If you have enough time to be thinking, should I hit it open stance or closed dance? The answer is closed dance. Step in, and if you have time to think about it, you should be stepping in. Is. So if that simplifies it for anyone, it's. I feel like for. For most people, unless you are playing at the pro level, you. You are hitting an open stance only if you have to. Only if that is the only way you can get your. Your racket on the ball and it's more of a reaction type shot. Ve actually trying to do it on purpose if that simplifies it for anyone.

[Kim Kleister]

Actually, even for me, like, to, you know, to listen. No, I'm dead serious. Like when you play somebody, like I remember when you play Lindsey Davenport or Venus and Serena, like when the ball comes back at you so fast, a lot of times you don't even have the time to like, it's just literally like a rotation with the, with the hip to the backhand and you just hit it from there and you just try to get low enough. Like a lot of times, like that's the position that you try to, to get into as quickly as possible. But yeah, it's definitely a good point is to just focus on that. If you have time. Close dance. If you don't have time, don't overthink it. That's what it all comes down to. Yes, it all comes down to don't overthink it.

[Claire]

And last burning question for you, Kim, on Yelena Ostapenko's social media, which if you all are not following, you are missing out. Someone needs to write her tell all immediately. She has been posting about ballroom dancing, baking, cooking.

[Kim Kleister]

Yes, I saw that.

[Claire]

Specifically cherry cheesecakes and also boxing. And I mean her layers never cease to amaze. She is a tennis onion. And I am just wondering for you. She obviously has several off court hobbies, but was there anything that you liked to do? Did you crochet in your spare time? Did you go see movies? Movies? What did you do to keep your mind off tennis? We know you loved it, but how did you keep your mind off of it when you didn't want to be fully immersed?

[Kim Kleister]

So I think I loved it because I had a lot of other distractions and I loved visiting the cities that we were at. I always looked at, you know, who's performing, like, are there concert, Is there an NBA game? Like I just always try to, it's not that I would like go out and like Matteo Berrettini, like go, go to a nightclub. Not like that. Like I enjoy.

[Claire]

You might have other reasons for going to the night nightclub, Kim. That's a story for another podcast.

[Kim Kleister]

But I really, Yeah, I just, whatever was around, like, and, and you know, my first few years on tour, I was, I was very young and I was supposed to take my like study books and you know, because I still had to do exams when I came back from my trips. But that kind of, yeah, I didn't last very long with that like sitting in my Hotel room. And studying wasn't my go to choice when I was already on tour, so I decided to also have some fun. And I think that's the reason why I enjoyed playing so much, is that I was able to really turn off my tennis brain at times. And, you know, my best, like, my childhood friend Caroline, she played. She was like 150. We played Fed cup together. She traveled with me a lot. Sometimes, like, we played. Played doubles together in Miami, and she would go to some of her smaller tournaments, but, like, we would still, like, hang out and. And. And we would just have a blast, even if it was just like acting like teenagers in the hotel room. You know, for a few years of my career, I was, you know, dating Leighton and. And just to have somebody there to. To learn from, to talk through things when. When you were struggling, like, it's just. It just made time go by so fast, and I. I just. Just really enjoyed it. I just. There was nothing. Yeah, now that I look back on it, there's really nothing that I didn't. Didn't like about it. I mean, there were definitely stages again, but, yeah, it was. It was great.

[Claire]

So if social media existed while you were a player, we would have gotten soup videos much sooner. Very sad. We had to wait until the year of our Lord 2025.

[Kim Kleister]

And especially. Yeah, especially when j. Like, when we had Jada, you know, like, traveling with her, and like, literally we had a little baby cook, and, like, it was a steamer and a blender, and we would, you know, make food and just make. Yeah, just. That was like. My hotel room smelled like salmon and leek and potatoes at times, just because we were cooking for her. And then that just. Yeah, that's just how we did it.

[Claire]

Kim, do you have a recommendation this week for rec room?

[Kim Kleister]

I do. It's kind of. It's nothing fancy. It's. It's. It just makes me really happy when I come back to Belgium and you're gonna laugh. This is.

[Claire]

I'm already laughing.

[Kim Kleister]

My absolute favorite water.

[Claire]

Spa water.

[Kim Kleister]

Spa water. It's from Belgium. It's my favorite water. It's great for little babies and everything in between, like, everything above that. And I just. The taste is the best. Best. Yeah. So whenever I'm. It's not available in. In the States, so when I'm in Belgium, this is all. I have, like, 12 crates of water. And usually I get the glass bottles, but now I have the. The plastic one here. But I taste a lot of difference in waters. And do you know that this is,

[Claire]

like, A subset of social media content, Kim. That there are water snobs out there and you do blind taste tests and, like, people can pick out, oh, this is Ozarka. This is Evian. This is decided.

[Kim Kleister]

I think I can do that. I think I can do that.

[Claire]

Can we please? No.

[Kim Kleister]

Oh, my God.

[Claire]

The US Open. We are doing. We are doing a blind water taste test. Ella, book it now.

[Kim Kleister]

Oh, my God.

[Claire]

We'll have to do it on site. We can't do it at the US Open because they're. They're an Evian property. But listen, if any water. If Spot wants to sponsor.

[Kim Kleister]

Do you have one?

[Claire]

I do. I don't physically have it with me because I have not purchased it as of yet. But I know that many of our listeners are likely going to tennis tournaments this summer, and I was privileged to get to try out the Shark Chill pill handheld fan. Have you seen these things, Kim?

[Kim Kleister]

Listen. No, but I need it. I need it next to my bed here. Kim needs it sounds amazing.

[Claire]

At this exact moment. No, it's. It's about this big. So I'm holding up something maybe, maybe a little bit bigger, probably a little bit wider than the size of your phone when it's folded up. But it. So it's compact, but it spits out this, like, cooled air. It's somehow much better than your basic fan, and every tennis fan needs one this summer. It's. It's small, so it's easy to fit in your bag, and it will make your tennis watching experience much improved. Also, it's quiet, which is huge. If you're sitting in the stands, you

[Kim Kleister]

don't want to whip out.

[Claire]

Exactly. So for all of our tennis fans out there, that is my fan recommendation for you. I had the chance to try it, and I highly recommend.

[Kim Kleister]

Do you know how much it costs?

[Claire]

It is like $200. It is an expensive fan. I. I think you can. I was actually looking last night. You can get it on sale, I think I. I saw some places for like 139, but it's. It's not a cheap fan, Kim. It's an investment. It's an investment probably worth happiness. Your. Your Christmas gift, Kim, is going to be great. This year. We've got.

[Sponsor Voice]

Listen.

[Kim Kleister]

It's going to be winter then.

[Claire]

That's true. Listen and store it away.

[Kim Kleister]

Okay.

[Claire]

Okay, Kim, this has been so much fun. As always, thanks to everyone for listening. We hope you guys follow us on all of our social media platforms at Love all podcast, you can comment on Spotify, which is something I learned recently. Because I am a dinosaur who does not use that platform. Maybe I should be using Spotify, but people could actually comment on the podcast, which I think is really cool. Different than a review. So, anyway, this is making me sound like I'm 92. Two years old. But.

[Kim Kleister]

But, yes, I completely get you. My husband sends me songs. He's like, hey, check this song out. I'm like, babe, I don't have Spotify. Like, what are you talking about?

[Claire]

Okay, well, I'm a step ahead of you. I do. I do have Spotify.

[Sponsor Voice]

Okay.

[Claire]

Yes. But yeah, at love all podcasts on all the things. If you would like, subscribe, review. We would appreciate it so much. So for Ella and the rest of the team, we will see you guys next week.

[Kim Kleister]

Here we go.