World number four Kim Clijsters bid a teary-eyed farewell to her home fans after losing to France's Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Diamond Games on Sunday.
"It's been a very emotional day," Clijsters told reporters, choking back emotion. "Antwerp is always a fun place to be."
The 23-year-old is to retire after this year's Wimbledon tournament and marry American basketball player Brian Lynch.
In a last effort to win at Wimbledon, Clijsters has said she will skip the French Open at the end of May.
"I would prefer to set my goals a little more on Wimbledon," she said. "I always felt that the run-up time between the French Open and Wimbledon was never long enough."
Entering the court to a roaring crowd, Clijsters, winner here in 2004, looked set to reap all the benefits of a home advantage, but after two tight sets and a nail-biting tiebreak, she went down 6-4 7-6 to world number three Mauresmo.
Already a tense and emotional event, the match was tainted by controversy with a line-call against Clijsters on the penultimate point of the tiebreak.
The decision set the crowd booing which officials found almost impossible to quell.
CLIJSTERS SERENADED
Clijsters, however, was gracious in defeat, telling Mauresmo after the match: "I don't think there's a better champion than you. I totally admire you, not only as a tennis player but as a person."
Asked about the line-call, she told reporters: "That's tennis. I'm not going to sit here and complain about it."
Belgium's love of tennis and appreciation of Clijsters came to the fore at the end of the tournament as she was showered with flowers and serenaded by Belgian band Clouseau with a song written for the occasion.
The song is set to be a number one hit, so great is Clijsters' popularity throughout the country.
But the big question now for the tiny nation is where their next top players are going to come from. World number two Justine Henin is Belgium's only other significant woman tennis player.
"We are very lucky to have two top players in Belgium but it will be a long time before someone else will come along," said spectator Luc Ceulemans, a 46 year-old Belgian jeweller.
Mark Samson, a 50 year-old pharmacist said: "It's a pity. I think there is no significant successor to follow her up."
Kirsten Flipkens, 21, triumphed at junior Wimbledon but has not won a tour title and slipped to 108th in the world from a high of 97 in October last year.
In the men's game, Xavier Malisse is the top ranked Belgian at number 29. Kristof Vliegen pulled off a surprise win over former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia earlier this month in the Davis Cup but he has yet to win a title on the tour.
