Kim Clijsters Invited A Middle-Aged Man To Return Her Serve At Wimbledon

As international sporting events go, it doesn't get much better than Winbledon. The annual Grand Slam tennis tournament in southwest London is widely regarded as the sport's biggest and most venerated event. This year included one of the more dramatic outcomes in recent memory, even though it was a sad one for American fans, as Venus Williams made it all the way to the singles final only to lose to Spain's Garbine Muguruza. But that wasn't the only memorable moment: on Friday, a Wimbledon spectator shouted advice at Kim Clijsters, prompting the tennis pro to invite him onto the court to face her serve.

The memorable, lighthearted moment took place during Clijsters' invitation doubles match. While the top-level competition at the tournament is always intense, the invitational doubles bracket is typically an easier, somewhat lighter affair, where historic players now years past their primes team up to the delight of the fans. For instance, this year saw the legendary Martina Navratilova hit the court at age 60.

In this case, however, Clijsters gave the fans a memory that likely won't be duplicated anytime soon. While asking her partner where to place her next serve, according to The Telegraph, a middle-aged man in the crowd called out "body" ― in other words, urging Clijsters to serve directly towards her opponent. And so, the 34-year-old former Wimbledon champion decided to throw a challenge back at the man: "why don't you go there?"

Clijsters wasn't kidding. She beckoned the man, reportedly named Chris Quinn, to come down to the court and take her opponent's place for a serve. But it wasn't as simple as that, thanks to the tournament's strict dress code; women's players are required to dress entirely in white, while Quinn was dressed in a pair of blue shorts and a bright green t-shirt.

So Clijsters grabbed her bag and fished out a white top and white tennis skirt for Quinn, who was, let's say, not exactly her size. It took a while for him to hike the tiny skirt up around his waist as Clijsters rolled onto the ground in laughter.

Improbable as it initially seemed, Quinn squeezed into the spare outfit and was ready to play, so Clijsters returned to her side of the net and fired across a serve. Remarkably enough, Quinn managed to return it, although he quickly lost the set on her next volley. He asked for one more, and Clijsters was happy to provide it, although the second time he failed to make contact with the ball.

It was a delightful and lighthearted moment, as the 2017 Wimbledon tournament winds to a close. There's still one genuinely competitive event left on the schedule, however ― Roger Federer will be squaring off with Marin Cilic in the men's final at 9:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 16.