Kim Clijsters, above all, always did things her way. From not following suit like so many of her peers and attempting to be a model first, then a tennis player, to leaving the tour to start a family and coming back only under her own terms, she was one of a kind.
With the recent end of her career at the US Open, here's a look at Kim Clijsters' 10 biggest wins of her career.
10. Def. Amanda Coetzer, 6-2, 6-4 in third round at Wimbledon, 1999. It was Clijsters' second WTA tournament and she was ranked 195th in the world, while Coetzer came in at No. 10. To get tot his point, Clijsters had won three rounds of qualifying and already beaten three other players ranked higher than her before shocking Coetzer. Clijsters fell to Steffi Graf in the fourth round, but leapt into the Top 100 with the effort.
9. Def. Dominique Monami, 6-2, 6-2, in final at Luxembourg, 1999. Clijsters' first tour-level title. She emerged from the qualification ranks again and beat five straight players ranked higher than her, including the 13th-ranked Monami for the title.
8. Def. Martina Hingis, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in semifinals at Indian Wells, 2001. It was Clijsters' first win over a top-ranked player. She lost the final, but gave herself a considerable reputation for upending Hingis.
7. Def. Justine Henin, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in French Open semifinals, 2001. The Belgian pair would square off 25 times in their careers, and Roland Garros was awlays Henin's favorite, but this time the day was Clijsters, the win moving her into the Top 10 for the first time in her career.
6. Def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-3 in Cincinnati first round, 2009. After more than a year off and without a ranking, suddenly Clijsters was back and thrashing the No. 12 player in the world. She would make the quarterfinals, also defeating No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
5. Def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in Tour Championships final, 2010. In proving to the naysayers that she was more than just an US Open specialist, Clijsters went 4-1 in the round-robin event, upending the No. 1 player to cash in on $1.45 million.
4. Def. Mary Pierce, 6-3, 6-1, in US Open final, 2005. The real accomplishment was probably the three-set marathon victory over No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, but the last victory gave Clijsters her elusive first Grand Slam victory after eight years on tour. She finished the season ranked No. 2, wtih an amazing 67-9 record.
3. Def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-2, 6-1, in US Open final, 2010. Anyone for thirds? Zvonareva barely managed a whimper as Clijstesr took her third Open crown, knocking off three Top 8 players down the stretch.
2. Def. Na Li 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Australian Open final, 2011. They called her "Aussie Kim" when she was engaged to local favorite Lleyton Hewitt earlier in her life. The relationship didn't last, but the affection did, as Clijsters dropped the first set before rallying to the victory, avenging her loss to Na two weeks earlier at Sydney.
1. Def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-5, 6-3 in US Open final, 2009. Three tournaments back from motherhood and retirement, Clijsters had her second career Grand Slam, taking out No. 3 Venus and No. 2 Serena Williams along the way.