Kim Clijsters withdrew from the WTA/ATP Wimbledon warm-up event in the Netherlands on Friday saying she had a stomach muscle strain and didn’t want to jeopardise playing in her last Wimbledon before retirement.
Clijsters’ physiotherapist Sam Versleghers said the 29-year-old Belgian felt the injury a day earlier in her tough two-set quarter-final against Francesca Schiavone. The announcement came just hours before Clijsters was due to play Urszula Radwanska in the semis.
“This is a decision taken with my head, not my heart,” Clijsters said in a statement.
“But preventively withdrawing from this tournament is the right decision. I am definitely going to play at Wimbledon.”
The four-time Grand Slam winner is unseeded at Wimbledon for the first time since 2000 and has a tough first-round draw against 18th-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
Clijsters said earlier this year she intends to retire after the US Open, where she won in 2005, 2009 and 2010. She also won the Australian Open in 2011.