Features

Comebacks from retirement

Author: John Harris
Date: 18/10/2009
Tennis betting

Kim Clijsters winning the US Open title two years after retiring is one of sport's great fairytale stories.

The Belgian's stunning success is largely responsible for persuading former world tennis number one Justine Henin to end her own self-imposed absence from the sport.

Can either Clisters or Henin win next year's Wimbledon? - Latest Tennis Betting

Clijsters though is not alone when it comes to famous sporting comebacks from retirement.

Kim Clijsters

Two years after turning her back on tennis and 18 months after giving birth to a baby daughter, Clijsters held aloft the US Open title at Flushing Meadows.

The former world number one was handed a wildcard entry to the competition just weeks after making a tentative comeback in an exhibition match at Wimbledon and she went on to conquer both sportsbook favourite Williams sisters and then ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-5 6-3 in the final.

Brett Favre

Favre recently became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat every one of the league's 32 teams.

However, that was only possible after the now 40-year-old came out of retirement for the second time to join the Minnesota Vikings for this season.

Favre previously led the Green Bay Packers during a glittering chapter in their history before a retirement U-turn in 2008 saw him join the New York Jets for one season.

Michael Jordan

Jordan stunned the basketball world when he abruptly retired in 1993 having led the Chicago Bulls to three successive titles.

'His Airness' tried and failed to launch a career in Major League Baseball before returning to the Bulls and leading them to three additional championships.

Another retirement followed in 1999 before he was persuaded to return again for a two-year stint with the Washington Wizards.

Sir Steve Redgrave

Britain's greatest modern day Olympian told the world to shoot him if he went anywhere near a rowing boat again after winning his fourth consecutive gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Redgrave then magically won a fifth gold medal in Sydney four years later despite being diagnosed with diabetes.

Sugar Ray Leonard

Leonard is widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time despite a career littered with retirements and comebacks.

An eye injury led to his first retirement in 1982 but he returned to action 12 months later after admitting to missing the limelight.

Several comebacks later he took part in his last professional bout in 1997 aged 40, but was knocked out in the fifth round of a one-sided encounter against Hector Camacho.

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