Elke Clijsters is from a sporting family: her elder sister Kim Clijsters (b. 1983) is an international tennis star, and her father Lei won the 1988 Gouden Schoen (Golden Boot) as Belgium's top soccer player. Elke Clijsters was once considered a rising star on the junior tennis circuit: in 2002 she won junior doubles championships at Wimbledon (with Barbora Strycova) and the U.S. Open (with Kirsten Flipkens). Not long into her career, however, she was sidelined with a back injury. She retired from professional play in 2004 and teaches tennis in Belgium.