Elke Clijsters

Who is Elke Clijsters?

Elke Clijsters is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium.

Born in Bilzen, Bree, the daughter of Belgian football player Lei Clijsters and sister of former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters. In 2002, Elke won the girls' Wimbledon Championships doubles title with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and the girls' U.S. Open doubles title with compatriot Kirsten Flipkens. Her highest was no. 389, a ranking she achieved on 15 September 2003. She played in the Belgium Fed Cup team in 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing all four matches, of which one was a singles match. In 2004, she reached the finals of two ITF singles tournaments, winning the one in Bournemouth. In the same year, she also reached the finals of two ITF doubles tournaments, of which she won one. She retired in 2004 due to a persistent back injury.

She married Standard Liège footballer Jelle Van Damme on 31 May 2008 in Bree. They had their first child in 2009, a boy. She gave birth to their second baby, a girl in November 2010.