Justine Henin: The mystery of the missing tennis champion

Why did the world No.1 choose to retire 10 days before the start of her favourite tournament? Surely the brilliant Belgian could have won a fourth consecutive French Open and had a final stab at Wimbledon before quitting.

by Gregory Lanzenberg on 16 May 2008

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Justine Henin's decision to retire came after her third-round loss to Russia's Dinara Safina at the German Open last week.

'Contrary to what she says, there was more work to be done, more dreams to be chased, more championships to be won'

Despite starting 2007 by leaving her husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne after four years of marriage, she won 10 of the 14 events she entered last year.

Henin is the reigning champion at the French and U.S. Opens and has won all the Grand Slams except Wimbledon.

On Wednesday, speaking at the Justine Centre named after her in Limelette, just outside the Belgian capital, the seven-time Grand-Slam champion confirmed that after two decades in the game she'd lost her passion for playing: "It's the end of a wonderful adventure but it's something I have been thinking about for a long time," she said. "I have experienced everything I could have. I have lived completely for tennis. I am relieved and proud of what I achieved."

To me, there's got to be another reason than fatigue or pride for quitting.

If they are the problems, then she could take a break from the game. And there could have been another major goal to achieve, winning the grass-court Slam.

She says that she has no regrets not winning Wimbledon, but Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors all have regrets not winning Roland Garros, the only major missing in their prestigious careers.

Comments (3)

by Deisha on May 17, 2008

It sounds as though we just found out that she was retiring but it had been on her mind for a while. Now there does appear to be mystery as to why she would not wait to retire after playing FO this year. I think she also felt that other players such as Serena and Maria were playing well again and she just wasn't up for the competition. I just hope that everything works out for her and she has a good life. Mystery or no mystery she was a very good tennis player. She will be missed.

by Naa on May 17, 2008

Deisha, u're on point...quote 'I think she also felt that other players such as serena and maria were playing well again and she just wasn't up for the competition'. That's just the reason and I'm surprised others are not seeing it that way. More like, they are refusing to see it that way.

by LEE HARDEN on May 29, 2008

Naa...may be you should ask Henin personally what was the reason for her abrupt retirement. IMO, Henin felt she could no longer dominate tennis as she would love to because she had lost her drive. I watched her tennis throughout this year, and her game was just not up to the mark that she set last year. It is not just Serena and Maria. Heck, Juju could have beaten them if she had that drive, but she didn't have it. And she also lost to Schiavonne and Safina, both players whom she used to whip their a**** in the past. She quit cuz she realised that she had not enough motivation (and coupled with that knee injury) to win her favorite slam anymore. It's as clear as that. Get that in your head Naa

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