World No. 1 Justine Henin Quits Pro Tennis

[Carrieyazel]

Source: AP

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Justine Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No. 1.

The 25-year-old Belgian made the surprising announcement at a news conference, less than two weeks before the start of the French Open. She has won that clay-court major championship four times, including each of the past three years.

"This is the end of a child's dream," said Henin, the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings. "This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it's serious."




Read more: http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/8136768/World-No.-1-Henin-quits-pro-tennis

[lisa58]

1. can't believe it - Serena must be thrilled!

[DS1]

2. Never even heard of her

:shrug:

[lisa58]

3. I'm guessing you don't subscribe to the Tennis Channel

[BlooInBloo]

15. Or follow tennis at *all*

[Supersedeas]

8. Commerical and Image is everything....apparently 7 Grand Slam wins mean little

[Cal Carpenter]

4. She was never my favorite

She lost me when she bailed out of the final at the Aussie Open in 2006 (?).

But she was a really good player, and definitely contributed to women's tennis.

Adieu, Henin.

[Doctor_J]

10. She also cheated in a match against Sernena Williams a couple years

ago in the French Open. I could never root for her after that.

[July]

11. I'm with you.

And that Aussie Open mentioned by another poster confirmed it for me.

[tishaLA]

13. I agree. She should have had the grace to allow Amelie

to win her slam. But this is just another sign that "big babe tennis" is, sadly, here to stay for the foreseeable future.

[edbermac]

5. You're not THE Carrie Yazel are you?

[Carrieyazel]

6. No, just a big fan of hers.

[Awsi Dooger]

12. I wondered about that myself

Almost asked a few times. :)

Damn, I don't know why I got rid of that issue. I still have mental images of some of those pictures. When Keeley Hazell emerged a couple of years ago I knew her chest reminded me of someone. Then finally it hit me -- Carrie Jean Yazel.

Volleyball, wasn't it?

[Journeyman]

7. GB Shaw observed, "The secret to immortality is knowing when to die" . . .

seems Justine Henin has found the means to remain forever at the top of her game.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

9. I'm wondering.....

...if she's pregnant or something like that. Then again, she's only 5'3 3/4. She's definitely an over achiever is a game of 6 foot world class athletes.

[bigwillq]

14. I never liked her

but she was such an intense and gritty player. She played all-out 100 percent of the time. A fierce competitor.

Good Luck Justine.

[joeybee12]

16. Same here...grudgingly respected her because of her intensity...

...she never said die...except of course at the Australian Open.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. Henin made a believer out of me vs. Clijsters

In the early years of that rivalry Clijsters was considered superior, more flair in her game. I distinctly remember Clijsters as a 1/2 favorite when they met in the French Open final, maybe 5 years ago. Henin wiped her out. Same thing in the U.S. Open a few months later. Then another win for Henin over Clijsters in the Australian final, although that one was closer.

Mostly, I appreciate Justine for handling Serena in all 3 major matchups last year. Serena is in better shape now and a threat to dominate any match, but last year she was still a fat ass and trying to coast on ability alone. That's an overstatement but not a wild one. Henin was at huge disadvantage having to play such a talented player in the quarterfinals and I was extremely impressed with Justin for putting Serena away all three times, inspiring classless comments like, "lucky shots..."

Henin did Serena a favor by pushing her to shape up and take things seriously. And I have a feeling Justine realized she couldn't handle Serena, at least not often, once Serena moved closer to top form.

Amazing that the two Belgians are gone at such an early age. Henin retired almost exactly a year after Clijsters.

[joeybee12]

18. Yeah, Chris made it to about 35, I think, and Martina was around

the same age, maybe a little older, when she retired...both Kim and Justine probably had several good years of tennis ahead of them, but if the fire ain't there, it ain't there.