Just a day after her singles career was brought to a close with loss to Laura Robson in the second round of the US Open, Kim Clijsters is saying goodbye to doubles as well, falling in the first round of the US Open women's doubles. She played with Kirsten Flipkens, and Chuang Chia-jung and Zhang Shuai took them out 6-3 6-4.

In her career Clijsters won 11 doubles titles. The US Open was her most successful tournament in singles, that's why she decided to retire on its courts, but in doubles she didn't win a title in New York, while she lifted the winner's trophy in Roland Garros 2003 and Wimbledon 2003, both with Ai Sugiyama.

Still, it's not completely over yet! Clijsters is playing mixed doubles as well. Teamed up with Bob Bryan, she will hit the courts on Friday against Irina Falconi and Steve Johnson. In mixed doubles Clijsters played the final of Wimbledon in 2000 with ex-fiancé Lleyton Hewitt. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Two lost tiebreaks in the US Open second round against Laura Robson, 7-6(4) 7-6(5), and we're, a bit surprisingly prematurely, saying goodbye to Kim Clijsters. If this was too fast a goodbye for you, let me tell you that Clijsters is out only from the singles competition. She's playing women's doubles with fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, while in mixed doubles she's paired with American Bob Bryan.

Moreover, the official farewell is yet to come. At the Diamond Games on December 12, in Antwerp, Belgium, there will be a celebration of Kim's career, a night with top players, entertainment and surprises, while on the occasion the event will be called Kim's Thank You Games. Read more »

The 2012 US Open will be the last tournament of Kim Clijsters' career and Fila is honoring its biggest WTA representative with a symbolic star-patterned collection.

There are 11 bigger stars in the print, paying tribute to the 11 years the Belgian has spent with Fila, while four stars have a tennis ball, honoring Clijsters' four Grand Slam titles. The main colors of the collection are white and navy with red accenting, typical Fila style. Read more »

Our guest blogger Omair likes to give WTA players unofficial titles on the account of their performance at big events. Notice how Serena improved from the Biggest Disappointment at Roland Garros, to Grass Empress at Wimbledon, to shortly afterwards become a Golden Empress at the Olympics.

SERENA WILLIAMS – GOLDEN EMPRESS

With her first gold medal in singles at the Olympics, Serena completed her Career Golden Slam, joining Steffi Graf and becoming only the second woman to achieve such a feat. Moreover, Serena did that in style, losing a total of 17 games in six matches. En route to the medal, Serena defeated four players who have ranked world number one at some point (Jelena Jankovic in the first round, Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals and Maria Sharapova in the final). She also became the only tennis player in history to complete Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. With such a strong performance, Serena reinforces her title of grass empress earned during Wimbledon 2012.

MARIA SHARAPOVA, VICTORIA AZARENKA – BRIDESMAIDS

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Sharapova and Azarenka were both the victims of Serena at the Olympics, and have combined three wins against her in 21 matches.

Sharapova rebounded strongly from her Wimbledon disappointment, however, she lost her plot completely once in the final and managed to win just one game in the most lopsided Olympic gold medal match.

Azarenka seemed determined to be on the course to win gold, but just like at Wimbledon, it was Serena who stood in her way. Azarenka had a chance to avenge her Wimbledon loss, but went down meekly, winning just three games against Serena. Read more »

Kim Clijsters will likely end her career with a perfect 6-0 record against fellow Grand Slam champion and former No.1 Ana Ivanovic. In their today's encounter at the London Olympics, Clijsters won 84% of points on first serve (69% of her first serves got in) and defeated the 11th-seeded Ivanovic 6-3 6-4 in just 58 minutes, despite hitting 10 winners less than the Serb. The third-round victory came pretty smoothly to Clijsters and only in the beginning of the second set she faced bigger challenges, when double faults at 0-1 eased Ivanovic's way to break points. However, Clijsters saved them, held her serve and finished the match without losing service games.

Venus Williams wasted three set points and a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak, while in the second set she blew a 3-1 lead to fall to this year's Wimbledon semifinalist Angelique Kerber 7-6(5) 7-6(5). Kerber is making her Olympic debut, while Venus is looking for a record fourth gold medal in the Olympic tennis, which she still has a shot at thanks to the women's doubles alongside sister Serena.

Serena Williams lost just one game, 6-1 6-0, in the third round against Vera Zvonareva (the only women's singles medalist from the Bejing Olympics who played this year, as Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina have retired), Petra Kvitova beat Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-0, Victoria Azarenka, after saving set points, advanced with a straight-set victory over Nadia Petrova 7-6(6) 6-4, and Maria Kirilenko took out Julia Goerges 7-6(5) 6-3. (source: The Washington Post, photo: © Neal Trousdale)