• What the Deuce

Just can't stay away

Kim Clijsters became the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong at Wimbledon in 1980 © Getty Images

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This time last year, Kim Clijsters was preparing to play her first competitive tennis match in over two years. Little did she expect quite how successful her foray into the sport would turn out to be.

After partnering Tim Henman in an exhibition match against the husband-and-wife pairing of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf under the new roof on Wimbledon's Centre Court, Clijsters decided she fancied playing a bit more tennis.

Just three tournaments later, and she had achieved the unthinkable, becoming the first unranked woman to win a Grand Slam title since 1968, beating Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets to win her second US Open title, four years after winning her first.

But it was not a comeback, she insisted, it was a second career for Clijsters, whose lifestyle had changed drastically. Now she had a husband and a baby daughter to care for, her attitude to the sport was completely different.

"At the end of her career, she grew tired of the circuit, she wanted to become a mother," her former coach Marc Dehous said ahead of her return to the sport. "Today she has achieved her wish. She trains for pleasure. If she is motivated, she'll come back. Nobody can say how she's going to adapt."

Clijsters returned to the top ten after winning her third title of her second career in Miami, and looks in no danger of disappearing anytime soon. She is just one of a number of female tennis players who have turned away from the sport, only to return later, with varying degrees of success. Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, and most recently Justine Henin.

Each had their reasons. Clijsters wanted to see if she could still compete as a mother. Capriati had plenty to prove having never won a Grand Slam title. Henin was inspired by Roger Federer's 2009 French Open title, completing his career Grand Slam.

But what is clear is that retiring from professional sport leaves a void in a player's life. Pete Sampras retired in 2002 as the most successful men's player - 14 Grand Slam titles. If any player had nothing left to prove, it would be Sampras.

"I didn't understand fully how tricky retirement would be," he said. "Every athlete will tell you, when they stop at a young age it is tough to find the kind of fulfillment you want. Some need to come out of retirement to find it, people get bored, they want to play at the level they once enjoyed - but that wasn't me. I was never in it for the money, or the limelight. I played to win."

Martina Navratilova won 167 singles titles in a career spanning three decades © Getty Images

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Martina Navratilova enjoyed a career spanning three decades, winning 167 singles titles, more than any player by some margin. She played her last competitive singles match in 1994, having qualified for the year-end championships for a 21st consecutive year, but continued to play doubles for another ten years.

Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, but has been given the all-clear and went on to win the ladies' exhibition doubles title with Jana Novotna.

"Why should you step away from something you love?," Navratilova told ESPN.co.uk. "It is not about wanting to live without something, it is about still doing something that you love. I love hitting the ball, I am still learning about the game - I love the way the sport evolves.

"As a journalist should you stop writing when you get to 40, saying, 'my best work is probably behind me?'. No."

While it would be unusual for a retired banker to announce he would be popping back into the office for a few months to see how it goes, tennis players seem unable to let go. For many of these players tennis has been the focus of their lives since they were old enough to swing a racket.

Some players are able to let go, to move on and are never heard from again. Others stay in the sport, making a living from coaching or as a pundit in the media.

That said, some players are the complete opposite. The Williams sisters often come under criticism for their recent lack of focus on their tennis careers, seeming more interested in their celebrity lifestyles and fashion collections than attending tennis tournaments these days.

While is it unlikely we would ever see Serena return to the court after the day she decides to hang up her racket, perhaps that is because her attitude, far from being unfocused, is a healthy one. By leading other pursuits outside the world of tennis, she is lining her nest for when she finally decides to retire, so as not to be left with a void where tennis once was.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.