Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams have both gone down in history for their stunning careers, having both won multiple Grand Slam titles.

Williams knew she would achieve great Wimbledon success, with seven of her Grand Slam titles having come at the tournament.

American legend Williams also won seven Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open, along with six and three at the US Open and French Open respectively.

WTA icon Williams danced at the Super Bowl as she continues to enjoy life outside of tennis, having retired back in 2022.

Clijsters meanwhile clinched four Grand Slam titles before she decided to hang up her racket, also in 2022.

17 Mar 2001: Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams pose with their trophies after the match during the Tennis Master Series at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens in Indian Wells, California. Williams defeated Clijsters 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.Mandatory Credit: Adam Pretty/AUS /Allsport

Kim Clijsters praises Serena Williams success after having her daughter

And the Belgian icon has now shared her verdict on the career of Williams, having been asked on The Sit-Down podcast for her memories on her era of women’s tennis.

“I think when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t really think about… I look at it differently the way that I do now, like I feel the same way, I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to compete against a fellow countrywoman like Justine [Henin],” she said.

“It’s so unique that we both come from such a small country, and then were able to be number one and win Slams and compete for titles.

“But then also when I look back now, my first US Open, I qualified, played against Serena in the second round, and that was her first US Open title, and then she ends up being the GOAT in our sport, right?

“When you think back about it now, it’s amazing, and the women that we’ve had growing up too, those were all women… Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Lindsay, Davenport, she was so important for me also, she’s one of the women that I called before I started travelling with my family.

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“It’s amazing. That’s the great part about getting older, is that you can reflect and you can look at the sport.

“And I’m not one of those that says, oh my era was better, it’s not like that. I feel very fortunate that we had great rivalries, right?

“And seeing Venus [Williams] and Serena develop into these multiple Grand Slam champions, especially Serena what she did after she had her daughter, and coming back and being so close to winning more titles was… I feel like doesn’t get enough recognition.

“But yeah I’m very proud to be a part of that generation and to have done well in a generation and what those women stood for as well. I feel very proud that I was able to compete in that era.”

Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters among former trailblazers in women’s tennis

Williams gave birth to her first daughter back in September 2017, having just won the Australian Open earlier that year against her sister Venus.

In stunning fashion, she would go on to reach four more Grand Slam finals; two at Wimbledon and two at the US Open.

READ MORE: The woman who Martina Navratilova identified as being the biggest threat to the Williams sisters in 2003 after she ‘closed the gap’

And while she may not have won any of those finals, Williams still deserves huge credit for even reaching that stage, not once but four times.

Clijsters meanwhile did manage to clinch the fantastic feat of major success after childbirth, winning the 2009 US Open after a two-year maternity break.

No player has since achieved that feat in women’s singles, but the likes of Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova among many others deserve huge praise for their impressive comebacks after maternity breaks.

They have undoubtedly been inspired by the likes of Clijsters and Williams, who both did amazing things for women’s tennis and indeed the sport in general.