Quick Facts
CapricornBiography
Elke Clijsters (born 18 January 1985) is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium.
The daughter of Belgian football player Lei Clijsters (1956–2009) and sister of former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters (born 1983). In 2002, Elke won the girls' Wimbledon Championships doubles title with Barbora 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 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.
ITF Circuit finals
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
Singles finals: 4 (1–3)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 7 April 2003 | Torre del Greco, Italy | Clay | Raffaella Bindi | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 11 August 2003 | Koksijde, Belgium | Clay | Lenka Snajdrova | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 1 May 2004 | Bournemouth, United Kingdom | Clay | Melanie South | 3–,6 6–1, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 8 May 2004 | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Clay | Ekaterina Kozhokina | 1–6, 4–6 |
Doubles: 10 (7–3)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 21 August 2000 | Westende, Belgium | Clay | Caroline Maes | Natasha Galouza Anouk Sterk | 1–6, 0–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 3 September 2001 | Petange, Belgium | Clay | Jaslyn Hewitt | Natallia Dziamidzenka Kika Hogendoorn | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 3. | 5 August 2002 | Rebecq, Belgium | Clay | Jaslyn Hewitt | Leslie Butkiewicz Tessy van de Ven | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 4. | 3 November 2002 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | Marta Domachowska | Jenny Loow Suzanne van Hartingsveldt | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 21 January 2003 | Hull, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Borka Majstorovic | Irina Bulykina Galina Voskoboeva | 6–4, 6–7, 3–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 2 February 2003 | Tipton, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Liana Ungur | Zuzana Černá Iveta Gerlová | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 18 May 2003 | Casale, Italy | Clay | Leanne Baker | Jolanda Mens Stefanie Weis | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 8. | 11 August 2003 | Koksijde, Belgium | Clay | Kirsten Flipkens | Zuzana Cerna Vladimíra Uhlířová | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 2 March 2004 | Buchen, Germany | Hard (i) | Caroline Maes | Lucie Hradecka Eva Hrdinova | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 10. | 29 March 2004 | Napoli, Italy | Clay | Mandy Minella | Michelle Gerards Marielle Hoogland | 6–1, 6–0 |