[Volcana]

First. The dress she wore in the OZ semis. Can we get Serena, Jenn and Martina in the same style dress? Possibly Serena's in white? Thank you.

Second. Kim is a big girl. 68 kg. grrrreat legs. Almost Serena-esque. Super-athlete. Why doesn't she get more pub?

Third. What was that? Tennis. Ah yes.

Why is she so defensive? Against Jenn she was sitting back and basically daring Jenn to try to pass her. Yes, Kim is so athletic she reaches almost everything. But often a slice lob goes back, which is just another chance for a winner for the opponent. She uses relatively little hip rotation. But she uses so much arm and shoulder in her swings, her stroke is REALLY long. So she almost can't hit big on the run.

If a Venus or a Monica gets control of a point, Kim can't take control back. She has to wait for them to give her a short ball or something. I think she could be vastly more aggressive. And which her agility and co-ordination, she could be the best half-volley-er on the tour.

Whatever.

What y'all think?

 

[veryborednow]

I'm not a huge Kim fan, I want to be so I'm working on that ....
I don't understand why she isn't publicised well - it's weird, I would say henin was publicised more than Kim yet isn't as good a player.

 

[Sofiane]

I agree with almost every-thing, I think That Kim is agreat Player, she volleys quit well, but I was dispointed in her not coming much to the net to finish points against Jenn.
But the girl is young, she is 18, she will improve, I am certain she will win a slam or more, at least I hope.
Sofiane.

PS: I like your posts a lot volcana (btw are you a she or a he? )

 

[irma]

The reason why she doesn`t get the publicity she deserves is simple, she doesn`t have the right nationality, Didn`t te americans call her boring and without personality?
She couldn`t go for full at the australian open because of her arm and still she reached the semis, so that shows how amazing she is
and her outfit, well to be fair, I wasn`t that fond of it
The skirt was nice but the red top(same as Amelie is wearing) isn`t realy my peace of cake, that doesn`t mean I will root less for her though

 

[saki]

I think that the main reasons that Kim doesn't get as much attention as some other top 10 players are:

1. That her game isn't particularly "flashy". No-one is going to "ooh-ahh" about her shots the way that they do about say Henin's backhand, or Hingis' anticipation, Venus' reach, Serena's serve, Jen's forehand et cetera. Nor is her game easy to describe - she's not precisely a power player, nor is she a finesse player.

2. Her personality/character doesn't attract much attention. Henin, the Williams sisters, Dokic have interesting family backgrounds (as far as the media is concerned anyway). Mauresmo gets a certain amount of attention because she's lesbian. et cetera. Also, she doesn't say anything derogatory about other players or make particularly controversial statements to the press. She's just a quiet, nice girl and that isn't what the media are interested in.

3. She's not spectacularly beautiful. She is quite pretty, but nowhere near as striking or beautful as Venus, Serena, Dokic, Kounikova, or cute like Hingis.

4. She's been steadily climbing her way to the top. She didn't do a Dokic/Kounikova and dramatically reach the semis of Wimbledon at 16, or a Hingis and win 3 slams at 17. Nor did she do a comeback like Capriati or Seles. And her quiet success story is again just not as newsworthy.

I would agree that she perhaps deserves more attention than she gets, I'm just giving reasons why she doesn't get it.

 

[angele87]

Yeah I totally agree with Saki. Kim is really well liked among tennis fans (she's my fave player) but doesn't really have that international appeal that say Anna, Venus, Serena etc... have. Like somebody pointed out she's never really done anything to get noticed by the media... she has never won a grand slam or really upset the highest seeds ( Venus, Martina, Lindsay and Jen) at a slam and has never really done anything too contreversial(sp?) She's an awesome player though and by far my fave on the tour. Hopefully she'll win a grand slam soon so she can get the recognition she deserves!!

GO KIM!

 

[arn]

Amongst the things already mentioned it's also her father who does a terrific job keeping the media away. It's very, very difficult for a journalist to get an interview with Kim. And she likes to keep low profile herself.

I don't agree on the hitting balls on the run part. I've never seen her having problems doing this, but she rather takes the more safer option and brings the ball back as deep as possibles in the court, forcing her opponent to hit another ball.

 

[karma]

I'm with Arn. I also think it's her father who keeps the media attention low. Even in Belgium the media is complaining they don't get so see/intervieuw her enough. Daddy Clijsters is a very protective father. He wants his kid in a little cocoon, where she'll only meet a few people and can fuelly focus on tennis. He certainly doesn't like all the media and I think Kim does almost everything he tells her to do (at least in that area )
For the rest: she is indeed a nice girl, doesn't have a particulary big mouth, isn't giving away big predictions for herself but always tries to stay with both feet on the ground. She doesn't promote herself nor seeks the attention of the media. Result: she doesn't get as much. But is that I bad thing? I certainly think not. She has a right to a personal life, and though I am a huge fan I'm interestted in her because she plays great tennis and because of what she says or does off court.
One last point: she might not get a lot of media attention (relatively speaking) but she is highly liked on tour. All the other players like her (something you can't say about e.g. Anna, who gets a whole lot of media attention or the W sisters of Hingis). And that's important too, don't you think?

 

[karma]

little mistake : though I am a hug fan I'm interessted in her because she plays great tennis and NOT because of what she says or does off court.

Sorry for that, but it's a Saturday moring, you know how it goes

 

[irma]

But is Justine such an interview giver then? I can`t imagine that, she doesn`t look like a girl who does have a need to sell herself either, or do they complain about her too? just wondering

 

[DutchieGirl]

I don't agree with Saki's #3 point... saying Kim "isn't as pretty as..." That really depends on the person. I mean you say she's not as pretty as Serena, venus, Marti, Jelena or Anna, well, I have to say that out of those 5 the only one I find pretty is Anna, and I for sure think Kim is prettiers than the other 4... but it's my taste, so that's really a subjective thing.

But anyway, I think Kim likes to keep out of the media, and it is probably good for her game, because she can focus on her tennis. But she does get a bit of media in Australia from being Lleyton's girlfriend (which really annoys me, because she should get recognised for her tennis, not being Lleyton's girl!).

 

[arn]

And you should look at Kim now, the curls are out of her hair!!! Looks really good

 

[angele87]

And you should look at Kim now, the curls are out of her hair!!! Looks really good

The curls are out of her hair??? Like permanently?? Yeah it must look nice cuz I saw some pics of her from some magazine from about a year ago and her hair was straight and it looked really nice!

 

[Belgium = Best]

Do you have a picture, arn?

 

[arn]

Nope, I don't have a picture, she was on tv, she looked like her sister Elke

 

[saki]

Of course beauty is subjective, but I would still say that Kim isn't striking enough physically to get attention because of her looks. She is pretty, just not striking.

 

[angele87]

Of course beauty is subjective, but I would still say that Kim isn't striking enough physically to get attention because of her looks. She is pretty, just not striking.

I think Kim is pretty but she could be striking if she wanted to be. If anybody saw the pictures from some magazine layout she looked really nice but during her matches she just doesn't glam herself up which i think is good. She focuses more on her tennis than on wearing a hot little number like Anna or whoever would do!

 

[Justinator]

Kim looks awesome without the curls! You're right Arn!

As people said, her dad doesn't want her to give too much interviews. Kim's such a nice girl, well-liked by everybody, maybe that's not very interesting for the media. And I don't think Kim really feels she needs more attention. It's a bit like Davenport, she's also a low-profile player, even she has won Slams. She still doesn't get the same attention like say a Serena Williams or a Kournikova. Even when Kim will lift her first Grand Slam trophy, I don't think it will make a big difference. There's not a juicy story to tell.

 

[Volcana]

I don't have to have thousands of words of hype. I could live with a large number of pictures of a skimpily clad Kim holding the RG trophy overhead. We could even skip the trophy.

 

[disposablehero]