Also See: Clijsters slips out of the spotlight
And yet she reached the pinnacle of women's tennis. She didn't have the flair that Justine Henin possessed, but born in an athletic family, she overcame every hurdle with grace and grit.
The first woman to be ranked number one without winning a Grand Slam, she put behind a broken relationship with Lleyton Hewitt and a year of injuries to win the US Open in 2005 in spectacular fashion.
While most of her rivals were locked in battle at one tournament after another, she became an expert on how to recuperate from ankle sprains, wrist surgery, hip problems and a number of other ailments.
In 2007, aged 23, she walked away from the game and injuries to start a family.
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