FORMER world No.1 tennis player Kim Clijsters has opened up about the death of Matthew Perry, a superfan of pickleball, in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.

The 40-year-old athlete explained why so many, like the Friends star, have flocked to pickleball in recent years, including herself, a new Major League Pickleball team co-owner.

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On Monday, The U.S. Sun spoke with Kim at an event hosted by Court 16 and Babolat at the club’s new flagship location in Brooklyn, New York.

Throughout her career, Kim won four singles Grand Slam titles – the US Open in 2005, 2009, and 2010 and the Australian Open in 2011.

Matthew, who was a longtime tennis fan, was spotted in the crowd at her matches on multiple occasions.

Some of Kim’s match-ups the late actor got to see included against Meghann Shaughnessy at the US Open in 2003, which Kim won in straight sets.

At the same event, he later watched as she beat Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals.

The tennis star revealed she ended up getting the chance to meet him at the US Open quite a few years ago, earlier on in her career.

Aside from the 2003 US Open, Matthew has been seen enjoying tennis at quite a few events over the past couple of decades.

He was at the same tournament many more times throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, including just last year.

Matt also attended the French Open this past June, a few months before his death on October 28, and he’d also played in a few celebrity tennis tournaments for charity over the years.

More recently, he’d taken up pickleball, which he’d reportedly played a few times a week, including the morning of his death.

After Matthew’s coach, Matt Manasse told People that the actor used the sport as an outlet to help with his sobriety, The U.S. Sun asked Kim to shed a bit more light on the advantages of the activity.

Aside from being a former world No.1 tennis player in both singles and doubles, Kim is now heavily involved in the world of pickleball.

Last year, the International Tennis Hall of Famer – alongside Tom Brady, Knighthead Capital, Kaitlyn Kerr, and Callie Simpkins – purchased a Major League Pickleball team, the Las Vegas Night Owls.

She explained her personal experience with tennis and pickleball to help explain why so many have flocked to the sports as outlets in their lives. 

“What I’ve always loved about it, and I used to say this about tennis, when people asked me, ‘Did you travel with a psychologist?’ I’m like, ‘No, tennis is my psychologist.’”

Kim went on: “It’s that focus. You can focus on the ball, your timing has to be right. 

“If people do meditation, for me, tennis was my – you go into a zone where you forget about everything else that’s happening. I think that’s why people really love playing.” 

The professional athlete shared that she can just be completely “focused” and “in the zone” for the duration that she’s on the court, both for tennis and pickleball.

Especially for the latter, Kim added that there’s a “super fun” social aspect to it. 

She loves how players of all levels can simply go to open-play courts and find new people to hit with.

After moving from her home country of Belgium to the United States a few years ago, the sport became especially important to her.

As the mother-of-three didn’t know many people aside from husband Brian Lynch’s family, pickleball gave her an opportunity to expand her circle.

“Pickleball became my social life,” she said. “To meet new people, and to meet people who owned businesses in the area, whether it was restaurants or [whatever]. It was super fun to be able to do that.”

Aside from focusing on the pickleball team she co-owns, Kim is getting ready for her next tennis event.

She and Victoria Azarenka recently joined the line-up for the San Antonio International Team Tennis Championships, which takes place November 10-12, after Elina Svitolina and Sofia Kenin had to drop out for various reasons.

Joining Kim on her team are Peyton Stearns, Gael Monfils, Mike Bryan, and Jack Sock.

Victoria’s team will also have Venus Williams, John Isner, Bob Bryan, and JJ Wolf.

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