Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the
world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
and
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in tennis, helped establish Belgium as a leading force in women's tennis with
Kim Clijsters, and led the country to its first
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...
crown in 2001. She was known for her all-court style of play and for being one of the few female players to use a single-handed
backhand
The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase ''backhand volley'', the term refers to a groundstroke (where the ...
.
Henin won seven
Grand Slam singles titles: winning the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, the
US Open in 2003 and 2007 and the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
in 2004. At
Wimbledon, she was the runner-up in 2001 and 2006. She also won a gold medal in the women's singles at the
2004 Olympic Games and won the year-ending
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
* Washington Trails Association
* Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
in 2006 and 2007. In total, she won 43
WTA singles titles.
Tennis experts cite her mental toughness, the completeness and variety of her game, her footspeed and footwork, and her one-handed
backhand
The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase ''backhand volley'', the term refers to a groundstroke (where the ...
(which
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beh ...
described as "the best single-handed backhand in both the women's or men's game")
as the principal reasons for her success. She retired from professional tennis on 26 January 2011, due to a chronic elbow injury.
[ In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by ''Time''. She is widely considered one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. In 2016, she became the first Belgian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
]
Early life
Justine Henin, occasionally spelled Hénin, was born in Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...
. Her father is José Henin, and mother, Françoise Rosière – a French and history teacher who died when Justine was 12 years old. She has two brothers and a sister.
When she was two, her family moved to a house in Rochefort, situated next to the local tennis club, where she played tennis for the first time.
Henin's mother routinely took the young Henin across the border to France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to watch the French Open. In 1995, shortly after her mother's death, Henin met her coach Carlos Rodríguez who guided her career both before her retirement in 2008 and during her 2010 comeback.
Tennis career
Early career
Henin, known as "Juju" to many of her fans,[Han, Eugene YS]
Sporting Legends: Justine Henin
Espnstar.com. Retrieved on 17 July 2016. was coached by Carlos Rodríguez of Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
. In 1997, she won the junior girls' singles title at the French Open. Early in her senior career, she regularly reached the late rounds of international competitions and won five International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there ...
(ITF) tournaments by the end of 1998.
Junior Slam results:
* Australian Open: –
* French Open: W (1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
)
* Wimbledon: QF (1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
)
* US Open: QF (1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
)
She began her professional career on the Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenn ...
tour in May 1999 as a wild card entry in the Belgian Open clay tournament at Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, and became only the fifth player to win her debut WTA Tour event. She also won her hometown event, the Liège Challenger, in July 2000.
Henin established herself as a major competitor in 2001, consequently reaching the women's singles semifinals of the French Open and then upset the reigning Australian Open and French Open champion Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to defending champion Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
in three sets in the final. By the end of the year, Henin was ranked 7th in singles, with three titles to her name. Also that year, she reached the French Open women's doubles semifinals with Elena Tatarkova and helped Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
to win the 2001 Fed Cup.
Moreover, Henin played for the German tennis club Weiß-Blau Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...
in 2001.[Topstar spielt für Schweinfurt]
19 June 2001
In 2002, she reached four WTA finals, winning two of them, and finished the year ranked world No. 5. Her German Open German Open is a name given to many sports events established in Germany, and include:
*German Open (badminton), an annual badminton tournament held since 1955.
* German Open (golf), was a golf tournament on the European Tour
*German Masters, a snoo ...
victory, her first win at a Tier I tournament, was noteworthy as she beat Jennifer Capriati in a semifinal and Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...
in the final, the then No. 2 and No. 5 ranked players, respectively. At Wimbledon 2002, Henin beat former world No. 1, Monica Seles, in two tough sets.
2003: Ascent to No. 1
Henin started the year as the 5th-ranked player in the world but lost to Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the Medibank International
The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
in Sydney. In the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, she defeated Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
7–5, 5–7, 9–7. In a match lasting more than three hours, Henin overcame a 4–1 final set deficit, high temperatures, and muscle cramps to defeat Davenport for the first time in her career. She then lost to Venus Williams in the semifinals in straight sets.
Henin also lost to Clijsters in the semifinals of the Proximus Diamond Games
The Diamond Games (due to sponsorship known for the last time as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games and before that Proximus Diamond Games, GDF-Suez Diamond Games and Thomas Cook Diamond Games) was a professional women's tennis tournament organis ...
in Antwerp. At the Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
one week later, she defeated Monica Seles in the final 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 after Seles had a match point at 5–4 in the second set.
Henin's next tournament was the Tier I Miami Masters. She lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 10, Chanda Rubin, 6–3, 6–2.
At the clay court Family Circle Cup
The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, Henin defeated world No. 1 Serena Williams in the final. This was Williams' first loss of the year after 21 wins.
The following week, Henin reached the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island
Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlanti ...
, Florida, losing to eventual winner Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. ...
3–6, 6–4, 7–5. Henin then helped Belgium defeat Austria 5–0 in a first round tie of the Fed Cup.
In May, Henin successfully defended her title at the German Open German Open is a name given to many sports events established in Germany, and include:
*German Open (badminton), an annual badminton tournament held since 1955.
* German Open (golf), was a golf tournament on the European Tour
*German Masters, a snoo ...
in Berlin. In the final, she saved three match points in the third set before defeating Clijsters.
At the French Open, she was the fourth seeded player and defeated the defending champion, Serena Williams, in a controversial semifinal 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 which saw Henin asked to acknowledge her raised hand during a Williams service motion. In the final, Henin defeated Clijsters in straight sets. This was her first Grand Slam title, and she was the first Belgian ever to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Henin then began her preparations for Wimbledon. At the grass court Ordina Open in Rosmalen, she lost in the final to Clijsters; she was forced to retire from the match after injuring her finger. At Wimbledon, Henin was the third seeded player. She defeated Mary Pierce in the fourth round and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals before losing to Serena Williams in straight sets.
Henin's first competition after Wimbledon was the Fed Cup tie against Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
. She won both her singles matches to help Belgium win the tie 5–0 and begin her 22-match winning streak. She then played two tournaments during the North American summer hard court season before the US Open. At the Tier I Acura Classic
The Southern California Open currently known as The San Diego Open is an ATP 250 and WTA 500 tournament held at the Barnes Tennis Centre in San Diego, California. The event originated as the Southern California Championships that ran from 18 ...
in San Diego, the third-seeded Henin defeated the top-seeded Clijsters in the final. Henin was accused of poor sportsmanship by Kim Clijsters. Two weeks later at the Tier I Rogers Cup
The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
in Toronto, she defeated Russia's Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the final.
Henin was the second-seeded player at the US Open. She won her first four matches against unseeded players before defeating seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina in the quarterfinals and then defeated sixth-seeded Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4) in a match that lasted more than three hours and stretched to midnight. Henin recovered from a 3–5 deficit in the second set and a 2–5 deficit in the final set and was just two points from defeat eleven times. She was treated for muscle cramps and dehydration overnight but returned to play in the final the next day. In the final, Henin defeated Clijsters in straight sets. The win raised Henin's ranking to world No. 2, just behind Clijsters.
At her next event, the indoor Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig, she lost to Myskina in the final. This ended Henin's 22-match winning streak. Two weeks later at the indoor Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Henin lost in the final to Clijsters. Had she won this match, she would have immediately replaced Clijsters as the world No. 1.
At the Tier I Zurich Open the following week, Henin reached her sixth consecutive final where she defeated Serbia's Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic ( sr, Јелена Докић, Jelena Dokić; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator, writer, and former professional tennis player. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. ...
. This win catapulted her to become the 13th world No. 1 on the WTA computer rankings on 20 October 2003. Henin temporarily lost her number 1 ranking after a week as she declined to defend her title at the Generali Ladies Linz
The Linz Open, currently sponsored by Generali Gruppe, is a women's tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. It is played on indoor hardcourts.
The inaugural event took place in 1987 in Wels, Austria and was organized by the ITF as a $10,000 tou ...
tournament.
At the season-ending WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
* Washington Trails Association
* Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
in Los Angeles, Henin defeated Myskina and Capriati and lost to Japan's Ai Sugiyama in her round robin matches, which was sufficient to advance and return to the top spot on the WTA ranking. In the semifinals, she lost to Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former world No. 1 tennis player and tournament director. Mauresmo won two major singles titles at the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, and also won the silver medal in s ...
6–7(2), 6–3, 3–6, but managed to close a season ranked world No. 1 for the first time.
Henin was named the ITF's women's singles World Champion for 2003.
2004: Australian Open and Olympic gold
Henin started 2004 by winning a warm-up tournament in Sydney and then the Australian Open in Melbourne, defeating Clijsters in three sets in the final.
By the end of 2004's spring hard court season, Henin had built a 25-match Tier I win streak and 22–1 win–loss record, winning her first 16 matches.
At the start of the spring clay court season, Henin's health was adversely affected by infection with a strain of cytomegalovirus
''Cytomegalovirus'' (''CMV'') (from ''cyto-'' 'cell' via Greek - 'container' + 'big, megalo-' + -''virus'' via Latin 'poison') is a genus of viruses in the order '' Herpesvirales'', in the family '' Herpesviridae'', in the subfamily '' Betah ...
and an immune system problem. She often slept up to 18 hours a day but barely had the strength to brush her teeth, let alone play competitive tennis.
Although Henin decided to defend her French Open title and was seeded first in the tournament, she lost her second round match to a much lower-ranked player, Tathiana Garbin
Tathiana Garbin (; born 30 June 1977) is an Italian retired tennis player. She was best known for her surprise defeat of the defending champion and the reigning world No. 1, Justine Henin, in the second round of the 2004 French Open. The winne ...
of Italy. At the time, the loss marked only the second time in 15 Grand Slam events that she had lost before the fourth round.
After months of layoff because of a virus, Henin returned to competition in August and won the women's singles gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
at the Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
in Athens, defeating Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former world No. 1 tennis player and tournament director. Mauresmo won two major singles titles at the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, and also won the silver medal in s ...
in the final 6–3, 6–3. Henin reached the gold medal match by defeating reigning French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in a semifinal 7–5, 5–7, 8–6 after having trailed 1–5 in the final set. Her medal ceremony was attended by fellow countryman and IOC president Jacques Rogge
Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...
.
In September, she was unsuccessful in her defence of her US Open title, losing to Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova (russian: Надежда Викторовна Петрова ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ...
in the fourth round. This defeat caused her to lose the world No. 1 ranking, which she had held for 45 non-consecutive weeks. She then withdrew from the ten remaining tournaments of the year in an effort to recover her health and improve her fitness.
2005: Second French Open and injuries
Her plan to rejoin the tour at the beginning of 2005 was delayed when she fractured her kneecap
The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...
in a December 2004 training session.
On 25 March, after more than six months away from competition, Henin returned to the WTA tour at the Miami Masters. She lost to second ranked Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2 ...
in a quarterfinal. She rebounded at her next tournament, winning the clay court Family Circle Cup in Charleston. She won two more clay court titles before the start of the French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. Her victories over top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Petrova made her a top contender for the title there.
Henin was seeded tenth at the French Open and defeated the French player Mary Pierce in the final in straight sets to take her second title at Roland Garros. The win marked Henin's 24th consecutive clay court win and her tenth consecutive final win, a streak dating back to Zurich in October 2003. In capturing the title, she defeated Kuznetsova in the fourth round, Sharapova in a quarterfinal, and Petrova in a semifinal. Henin saved two match points to defeat Kuznetsova in the fourth round 7–6(6), 4–6, 7–5 and thus became only the second woman to win the French Open after saving a match point.
With her French Open victory, Henin moved from world No. 12 to No. 7 in the women's singles rankings. She was a perfect 24–0 on clay this year and joined Monica Seles as the only two currently active (in 2005) players on the WTA Tour to have won the French Open at least twice.
At Wimbledon, her win streak of 24 matches was snapped in the first round by Greek Eleni Daniilidou 7–6, 2–6, 7–5. It was the first time that a reigning French Open champion failed to win a match at Wimbledon. A hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupe ...
injury sustained earlier in the year eventually limited her to playing only 11 more matches for 2005.
Henin next played the Rogers Cup
The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
in Toronto, where she reached the final after beating Mauresmo in a semifinal before losing to Clijsters in straight sets. She lost in the fourth round of the US Open to eventual finalist Mary Pierce 3–6, 4–6. Following this, she played in Filderstadt, but after losing her first round match to Flavia Pennetta, she decided not to play for the rest of 2005.
TENNIS Magazine
''Tennis'' is a U.S. print sports magazine devoted to the sport of tennis. It is published eight months per year, and operates a website, Tennis.com.
History
The magazine was established in May 1965, published out of Chicago with a regional focu ...
placed her in 31st place on its list of that year of the 40 Greatest Players for the period 1965 through 2005.
In November, at the Tour Championships, she was named the inaugural winner of the Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year, which honors the player who has demonstrated the most sixth sense intuition, that is to say "heightened intelligence, unbeatable performance and pinpoint precision".
2006: All four Slam finals
In January, Henin returned to competitive tennis at the tournament in Sydney, a tune-up for the Australian Open. She was seeded fifth and played former world No. 1 (and newly returned to competitive tennis) Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...
in a much hyped first round match. Henin won 6–3, 6–3.
At the Australian Open, Henin defeated top-ranked Lindsay Davenport and fourth ranked Maria Sharapova in three-set matches to set up a final against third ranked Amélie Mauresmo. While trailing 6–1, 2–0, Henin retired from the match, citing intense stomach pain caused by over-use of anti-inflammatories for a persistent shoulder injury. Henin stated afterwards that she feared possible injury had she continued to play. Henin was criticized by the press because she had stated after her semifinal win against Sharapova that she was at the "peak of her fitness" and was playing the "best tennis of her life". This was only the fourth time that a Grand Slam women's singles final ended by retirement since 1900, and the first ever during the open era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
.
Henin captured her second title of the year at the Tier II event in Dubai defeating Sharapova 7–5, 6–2. This was her third Dubai title, having won previously in 2003 and 2004. At Tier I Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
in Indian Wells, Henin lost in the semifinals to fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6–2, 5–7, 5–7, after leading 6–2, 5–2 and serving for the match twice. Henin also lost in the second round of Tier I Miami Masters to Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy (born April 13, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in 2001 and won six titles on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. ...
5–7, 4–6.
On clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
, she failed to retain her title at the Family Circle Cup, losing in the semifinals to third-seeded Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...
6–2, 3–6, 2–6. It was her first career defeat at this tournament and the end of her 27-match winning streak on clay. Henin then helped Belgium defeat defending champion Russia in a Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...
quarterfinal. She beat fifth ranked Nadia Petrova 6–7, 6–4, 6–3, and 9th ranked Elena Dementieva 6–2, 6–0. Petrova had come into the tie with two consecutive clay court tournament victories and a ten-match clay court winning streak, while Dementieva had defeated Henin in their last meeting in Indian Wells and defeated second ranked Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters on the first day of the tie. Three weeks later, Henin played the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open, defeating Mauresmo in the semifinal 6–1, 6–2 before losing to Petrova in a three-set final.
At the French Open, Henin defeated second seeded Clijsters in the semifinals 6–3, 6–2. She then defeated Kuznetsova in the final to win her third French Open singles title in four years. Henin captured the title without losing a set and became the first French Open champion to defend her title successfully since Steffi Graf in 1996.
At the Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
grass court tournament just before Wimbledon, Henin defeated Anastasia Myskina in the final in three sets.
Henin was the third seed going into Wimbledon and advanced to her third consecutive Grand Slam final without losing a set. She defeated Clijsters (who was seeded second) in a semifinal 6–4, 7–6(4) but lost the final to Mauresmo. The final featured two finesse players who used their all-court games, a break from recent years that featured a succession of power baseliners claiming the title. At almost every point throughout the match, both players approached the net to volley. Tipped as the tournament favorite, Henin won the first set. But Mauresmo recovered to win the next two sets and her second Grand Slam singles title and deny the Belgian a career Grand Slam. This was the only Wimbledon final of the decade that did not involve Venus and/or Serena Williams.
Henin withdrew from Tier I events in San Diego and Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
because of injury but played the tournament in New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
. There, she defeated Kuznetsova and Davenport en route to the title. It was her 28th WTA tour title. She returned to the world No. 2 ranking and crossed over US$12 million in career prize money.
At the US Open, Maria Sharapova defeated Henin in the final after Henin had defeated Lindsey Davenport in the quarterfinals and Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
in the semifinals. Henin became the first woman since Hingis in 1997 to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in a calendar year.
Henin won both of her singles matches during the Fed Cup final against Italy in Charleroi. However, Henin retired from the deciding doubles match because of a knee injury while she and her partner Kirsten Flipkens
Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2012 T ...
were trailing 3–6, 6–2, 2–0, giving Italy the championship.
Henin guaranteed her year-end world No. 1 ranking by reaching the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships, defeating Maria Sharapova in the semifinals 6–2, 7–6(5). Henin then defeated Mauresmo and won the tournament for the first time in her career.
Henin was the first player since Hingis in 2000 to win the WTA Tour Championships and end the year as the top-ranked player. Henin was the first woman to win at least one Grand Slam singles title in four consecutive years since Steffi Graf from 1993 through 1996. Her prize money earnings for the year totaled $4,204,810.
2007: Dominance
On 4 January 2007, Henin withdrew from the Australian Open and the warm-up tournament in Sydney to deal with the break-up of her marriage. Not playing those tournaments caused Henin to lose the world No. 1 ranking to Maria Sharapova.
In Henin's first tournament of the year, she lost in the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 Ope ...
in Paris to Czech Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles.
She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...
6–7(5), 4–6. She then won two hardcourt tournaments in the Middle East, the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open (for the fourth time in five years) over Amélie Mauresmo and her first Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open, currently sponsored by TotalEnergies and called the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, is a women's tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoo ...
title, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. She also reached US$14 million in career prize money and on 19 March, regained the world No. 1 ranking.
At the Miami Masters, Henin reached the final for the first time in her career, where she lost to Serena Williams 6–0, 5–7, 3–6 after holding two match points at 6–0, 5–4. Her next tournament was the J&S Cup in Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, which she won, beating Alona Bondarenko
Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok ( uk, Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko plays on the WTA Tour.
Her career-high s ...
of Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
in the final, 6–1, 6–3. Later, at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Henin won her quarterfinal against Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
3–6, 6–4, 6–4 after being behind 4–0 in the third set, only to lose her semifinal against Kuznetsova 4–6, 7–5, 4–6. The loss was only her second to Kuznetsova in 16 career meetings.
At the French Open, Henin was the two-time defending champion and top seed. In a highly anticipated quarterfinal match against Serena Williams, Henin won 6–4, 6–3. She then defeated Janković in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2. In the final, Henin defeated Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, 6–1, 6–2 to claim her third consecutive French Open title, equalling Seles's open era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
record. She also surpassed US$15 million in career prize money earnings. Henin won the tournament without dropping a set and had not lost a set at this tournament since the 2005 French Open quarterfinals. She had not lost a match at the French Open since 2004.
The International Women's Open
The Eastbourne International is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as a WTA 500 series on the WTA Tour and an ATP Tour 2 ...
in Eastbourne was Henin's first grass court tournament of the year. She and Mauresmo reached the final, which was the first time in nearly 30 years that the Eastbourne final included both finalists from Wimbledon the previous year. Henin recovered from a breakdown in the final set to win in a third-set tiebreak for the second consecutive year.
At Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, Henin lost to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She also ...
in the semifinals 6–1, 5–7, 1–6, one day after Henin defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. It was Henin's first win over the American on a surface other than clay. In the semifinal, she was up a break at 1–0 and 4–3 in the second set, but could not hold the lead.
In August, Henin won the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Janković in the final. The tournament championship was her 35th on the WTA tour, moving her past Clijsters who retired with 34 tournament championships.
At the US Open, Henin defeated her first four opponents in straight sets, with a 6–0 set in each match. Henin then faced Serena Williams in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive time in a Grand Slam tournament, and for the third time, Henin won, 7–6(3), 6–1. In the semifinals against Venus Williams, Henin was up a break in the first set but could not hold it. She finally won the set in a tiebreak. In the second set, Henin was ahead 3–0 before Williams leveled the set at 3–3. Williams then had three break points on Henin's service but could not convert and lost the game. Henin then broke Williams's serve and held her own serve to go up 5–3. Williams then broke Henin to pull within 5–4 but Henin broke Williams again in the last game to win the match 7–6(2), 6–4. Henin became only the second player to defeat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam tournament (after Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open
The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It was the 89th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 15 through 28 January 2001.
Seniors
Men's singles
...
). In the final, Henin won her second US Open singles title, defeating Kuznetsova in straight sets, 6–1, 6–3. Henin won the tournament without dropping a set. She thus became the first women ever to defeat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam tournament, and go on to also win the title (Hingis had lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final of the 2001 Australian Open).
Henin won her next tournament, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Stuttgart Open, also known by its sponsored name Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, is a women's tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany (until 2005, in Filderstadt, a southern suburb of Stuttgart). Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest w ...
, defeating Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin ( rus, Татья́на Григóрьевна Головина́, r=Tatyana Grigoryevna Golovina; born 25 January 1988) is a Russian-born French professional tennis player. She won the 2004 French Open mixed-doubles event, partner ...
in the final. Two weeks later, Henin won the Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zürich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it wa ...
, her ninth title of the year, by again defeating Golovin in the final.
At the WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
* Washington Trails Association
* Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Wa ...
, Henin won all three of her round robin matches, defeating Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambuliovna Chakvetadze ( ; born 5 March 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player.
In her career, Chakvetadze won eight WTA Tour singles titles, the biggest being the 2006 Kremlin Cup. She booked her highest singles ranking o ...
, Janković, and Bartoli. Going into the match against Bartoli, Henin had won 22 consecutive matches since Bartoli defeated her in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals. Although Henin had already clinched a spot in the semifinals, both Henin and Bartoli did not know Bartoli had to replace Serena Williams until several hours before the match and lost 6–0, 6–0. In the semifinals, Henin defeated Ivanovic 6–4, 6–4. In the final, Henin overcame Sharapova in three sets in a match that lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes. Sharapova won the first set on her eighth set point in the 12-minute last game. Henin won the match on her fifth match point in the final game of the match. This was Henin's longest ever match, the longest final in tournament history, and the twelfth longest women's match ever.
This victory extended Henin's winning streak to 25 matches. She only lost three sets after Wimbledon. This victory made her the sixth player to successfully defend her title at the WTA's season-ending championship and the first player to claim at least ten tour titles in a year since Hingis won twelve in 1997. She also became the first woman to break the US$5 million barrier in prize money in a year, and by crossing US$19 million, Henin is now ranked fifth on the all time prize money list.
Henin ended the year ranked world No. 1 for the third time in her career, having done so previously in 2003 and 2006. She was the first player since Lindsay Davenport to end the year ranked world No. 1 consecutively for two years (Davenport was ranked year-end world No. 1 in 2004–2005). She also ended the year with a 63–4 record, having lost to only four players: Lucie Šafářová, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Marion Bartoli. Her winning percentage of 94% was the best since Steffi Graf's 1995 season (Serena Williams surpassed her in 2013 with 95%).
2008: Retirement
Henin started the year as the world No. 1. 14 January marked Henin's 100th career week as world No. 1, and on 10 March, Henin became only the seventh female player to be ranked world No. 1 for 12 consecutive months.
The Medibank International in Sydney was Henin's first tournament of the year. She defeated Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals 6–2, 2–6, 6–4. She then defeated world No. 2, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, overcoming an 0–3 deficit in the final set.
At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Henin won her 32nd consecutive match in the fourth round, defeating Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei ( ;''Xiè 謝淑薇Shūwēi'' in Chinese mainland. Taiwanese Mandarin: ; in Standard Mandarin of Chinese mainland. born 4 January 1986) is an inactive Taiwanese professional tennis player. She has won three singles titles and 30 ...
of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
6–2, 6–2. The winning streak ended in the quarterfinals when Sharapova, the eventual winner, defeated Henin 6–4, 6–0. This was Henin's first 6–0 loss since the 2002 French Open and the first time since the 2005 US Open that Henin had been defeated in Grand Slam singles before the semifinals.
At the Proximus Diamond Games
The Diamond Games (due to sponsorship known for the last time as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games and before that Proximus Diamond Games, GDF-Suez Diamond Games and Thomas Cook Diamond Games) was a professional women's tennis tournament organis ...
in Antwerp, Henin defeated Karin Knapp
Karin Knapp (born 28 June 1987) is a retired Italian tennis player.
In her career, Knapp won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles titles and six doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 24 August 2015, she reached her best s ...
in the final. This was Henin's second singles title in her native Belgium. Two weeks later at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
, Henin was the defending champion but lost for the first time in eight meetings to Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone (; born 23 June 1980) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1998 and won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She w ...
in the quarterfinals 7–6(3), 7–6(4). Henin had struggled for three hours in her first match against Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian retired professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 20 on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she reached No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding this ...
, eventually winning 7–5, 6–7, 6–3.
After taking a four-week break, Henin's next tournament was the Miami Masters. She lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams 2–6, 0–6. Henin then withdrew from the Tier I Family Circle Cup because of an injury to her right knee.
At the Tier I, clay court Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Henin lost in the third round to Dinara Safina 7–5, 3–6, 1–6, in what turned out to be her last match before retirement. In their five previous career matches, Henin had never lost a set to Safina. The day after her defeat, Henin withdrew from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, citing fatigue.
Henin announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis on 14 May 2008, and requested the WTA to remove her name from the rankings immediately. Her announcement was a surprise because Henin was still ranked world No. 1 and was considered the favorite for the French Open, where she would have been the three-time defending champion. She said she felt no sadness about her retirement because she believed it was a release from a game she had focused on for twenty years. She also said that in the future, she would be concentrating on charity and her tennis school.
2010: Comeback
Belgian newspaper ''L'Avenir'' reported on Tuesday 22 September 2009 that Henin would formally announce her return to competitive tennis after 16 months of retirement. Later that day, she confirmed her return to competition.
Henin mentioned seeing Roger Federer finally complete the grand slam of titles by winning the French Open in 2009 had been an inspiration, as had Kim Clijsters' return to the tour and her victory at the US Open.
Henin made her return to tennis at the Brisbane International
The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 seri ...
where she was given a wildcard. She defeated No. 2 seed Nadia Petrova, Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Radoslavova Karatantcheva ( bg, Сесил Радославова Каратанчева; born 8 August 1989) is a Bulgarian former tennis player.
In her career, she won nine singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 November 2005, ...
, No. 7 seed Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink (born 22 October 1982) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. On 21 September 2009, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 37.
Czink reached two WTA Tour singles finals. In 2005, she lost to Ana Iva ...
and No. 3 seed Ana Ivanovic to make it to the final. She then nearly won, losing to her compatriot Clijsters in a riveting final, 3–6, 6–4, 6–7(6) lasting 2 hours, 23 minutes. At one point, Henin was up 3–0 in the third set before Clijsters rallied and took the match to a tie break. Down 1–5 in the tiebreak, she fought back to 6-all before Clijsters took the final two points.
At the 2010 Australian Open, Henin was given a wildcard as an unranked player. Henin started off with a straight sets victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens
Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2012 T ...
. She set up a second round match of the tournament with No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva, whom she defeated 7–5, 7–6(5). Lasting two hours and fifty minutes, commentators felt this match was worthy of a final. Henin approached the net forty-three times, winning thirty-five of those points. In the third round, she defeated No. 28 seed Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhailovna Kleybanova (russian: Алиса Михайловна Клейбанова, born 15 July 1989) is a Russian former tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 20, achieved in February 2011. In her career. she wo ...
from Russia; where she made a comeback to win 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. In the fourth round she faced World No. 16 and fellow Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
, Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer (born 20 October 1989) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals at the 2009 US Open, and a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 12, on 19 April 2010. In doubles, she achieved a career-high of world No. ...
, defeating her in three sets 7–6, 1–6, 6–3. She then defeated No. 19 seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals. Henin won 7–6, 7–5 after having been down 0–3 in the second set. She then went on to defeat Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a retired tennis player from China. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15.
Zheng is one of the most successful tennis players from China. She won four WTA singles titles – Ho ...
from China in the semifinals in convincing fashion 6–1, 6–0, setting up a clash with world No. 1 Serena Williams in the 2010 Australian Open ladies' final. This was the first time in their long rivalry that Henin and Serena Williams met in a Grand Slam final. Henin would eventually fall to Serena Williams in three sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–2.
A wildcard was granted for Henin to compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a Premier Mandatory tournament. In the first round, Henin defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková (; born 4 October 1988) is a retired Slovak tennis player. In her career, she won four singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. Rybáriková reached the semifinals of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and br ...
6–2, 6–2 in a little over an hour. Henin then lost to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko (; born 30 January 1985) is a retired Argentine tennis player. Although she enjoyed modest success in singles, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 26 and winning four WTA titles, her speciality was doubles, where she achiev ...
, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, in a two-hour match. The result gave her a new rank of world No. 33 as of 22 March 2010.
She defeated Jill Craybas
Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player.
From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon Championships ...
of US 6–2, 6–2 in the first round of Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
. In the second round, Henin defeated world No. 6, Elena Dementieva, 6–3, 6–2 in 90 minutes. In the third round, Henin defeated Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 and Petra Kvitová in 2011) to win ...
in 93 minutes, 6–4, 6–4 advancing to the quarterfinals where Henin beat Vera Zvonareva 6–1, 6–4 to set up a meeting in the quarterfinals with world No. 2, Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
. After defeating Wozniacki in a three-set match, she fell to Kim Clijsters in a semifinal battle, 2–6, 7–6(3), 6–7(6). Following her Sony Ericsson Open performance, Henin moved into the top 25 for the first time since her comeback.
Henin's next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Henin played through this tournament injured, having previously broken her left pinkie during Fed Cup practice. In the first round, Henin saw off German qualifier Julia Görges 7–6(3), 6–1. In her second round, she defeated world No. 12 and fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, defeating her for the 2nd consecutive time, 6–3, 7–5. In the quarterfinals, she defeated fourth seed and world No. 7 Jelena Janković 3–6, 7–6(4), 6–3 for the tenth time in her career. She defeated world No. 20 Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player.
Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reached ...
in the semifinals, 6–3, 6–2, and reached her third final in five tournaments this year. She faced world No. 10 Samantha Stosur. Henin won the final 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in 100 minutes, to procure her first title in 2010 (in her 3rd final). Winning this tournament also sent Henin into the top 20 for the first time since her comeback.
At the Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open:
* Madrid Open (golf)
The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...
she was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï (; fa, ارغوان رضایی ''Arghavān-e Rezāyi'' , born 14 March 1987) is an Iranian–French tennis player. She has defeated many top players on the WTA Tour, such as Justine Henin, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenk ...
4–6, 7–5, 6–0. As a result of this loss, Henin dropped out of the top 20 to No. 23. Henin then participated at the French Open, seeded 22nd, the second grand slam of the year where she had won four previous titles. In the 1st round, she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( bg, Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been not ...
in 89 minutes, 6–4, 6–3. In the second round, Henin faced Klára Zakopalová and defeated her 6–3, 6–3. In the third round, facing former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, Henin ended her streak of consecutive sets at 40, losing the 2nd set to Sharapova but going on to win 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. She had then tied the number of consecutive sets won at the French Open with Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) d ...
. She lost to world No. 7 Samantha Stosur 6–2, 1–6, 4–6 in the fourth round, her first defeat at Roland Garros since 2004.
Henin began the grass court season at the UNICEF Open
The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, branded by its sponsored name as the Libéma Open since 2018, (formerly known as the Continental Grass Court Championships, Heineken Trophy, Ordina Open, UNICEF Open, Topshelf Open and RICOH Open), is a pro ...
, where she was the top seed for the first time since her return. In the first three rounds she defeated Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1, for a total of 34 weeks, and won three major titles at the 2016 Australian Open, the 2016 US Open, and the 2018 Wi ...
, Roberta Vinci, and Kristina Barrois in straight sets. She then beat No. 5 seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the semifinals, 6–2, 6–2. In the final, she defeated No. 7 seed Andrea Petkovic to win her 43rd career title and second of the year.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon Championships, Henin was the No. 17 seed. In the third round, she had a victory over Nadia Petrova, winning 6–1, 6–4. She was eventually defeated in the fourth round by Kim Clijsters 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, after convincingly winning the first set. Midway through the first set, Henin slipped on the court, injuring her right elbow. Further examinations revealed a partial ligament fracture in her elbow, causing her to end her 2010 season prematurely. She was awarded the WTA Awards#Comeback Player of the Year, WTA Comeback Player of the Year award in December for her 2010 season.
2011: Second retirement
Henin started her season at the 2011 Hopman Cup, Hopman Cup. She did not lose any sets in the competition earning comfortable victories over Alicia Molik from Australia, Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Radoslavova Karatantcheva ( bg, Сесил Радославова Каратанчева; born 8 August 1989) is a Bulgarian former tennis player.
In her career, she won nine singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 November 2005, ...
from Kazakhstan, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US in the final.
Henin was the 11th seed and a defending finalist at the 2011 Australian Open, Australian Open. Henin defeated Sania Mirza from India in the first round 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 and Elena Baltacha in the second, 6–1, 6–3. She then fell to 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4–6, 6–7(8).
On 26 January 2011, Henin announced her definitive retirement from professional tennis, due to an exacerbation of the elbow injury she sustained the previous year at Wimbledon.
Playing style
At the 2007 French Open, Martina Navratilova said that "Henin's offense is just phenomenal ... it's sort of like we've got 'the female Roger Federer, Federer', or maybe the guys have 'the male Justine Henin', because she is just head and shoulders above everyone else right now." Her footwork, balance, and court coverage—and she is adept at changing from a defensive style to an aggressive one.
Compared to the rest of her game, Henin's serve was rather inconsistent. Her tendency to take risks on her second serve could sometimes result in a high number of double faults. When she first came onto the tour, Henin used a pinpoint stance (most common among the WTA) for serving, but later retooled her serve to use a platform stance, which is most common among male players.[Martina Hingis, Queen of the Non-Contenders – The New York Sun](_blank)
Nysun.com (29 August 2006). Retrieved on 20 March 2014. Nonetheless, despite her relatively small size, Henin was capable of producing powerful first serves, her fastest one being clocked at at the 2005 Family Circle Cup
The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...
. Henin's single-handed backhand was the most powerful and accurate in the game. She could hit her backhand flat, with heavy topspin, or slice [underspin]. Her backhand could also be used to surprise her opponents with drop shots, breaking up the pattern of a groundstroke rally. Her forehand was generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon, and the stroke that she normally used to dictate play in a match. It was underrated as most only spoke of her backhand, but particularly in her dominant years of 2003 and 2007, she would dominate the tone of matches with her huge and versatile forehand. Like her serve, her forehand was something retooled during her career and took inspiration from Andre Agassi's forehand.
A notable aspect of Henin's playing style was the completeness of her game—the variety and versatility she had. Her style was often compared to that of Roger Federer and to five-time Grand Slam winner Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...
as well. Four-time Grand Slam winner Kim Clijsters commented "Growing up together, she's always been the more touchy player. She has good hands ... she has those quick hands." Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick praised Henin's and Hingis's racket skills, saying "She has probably the best racket skills of any female player I’ve seen, maybe her [Hingis] and Justine." Hingis herself also similarly said "Players were better educated [during my career]. Now it's sheer power. You kind of miss the players like myself or Justine Henin."
One-handed (topspin) backhand
In an era where two-handed backhands have become increasingly more popular due to their greater power and control, albeit at the expense of reach and shot variety, Henin possessed one of the best one-handed backhands to have ever played the sport of tennis. Her one-handed topspin backhand was particularly celebrated because it contained both unmatched power as well as accuracy, two factors that many juniors may find challenging to acquire earlier in their development and thus have driven a good number of them, especially girls, to choose playing two-handed backhands. Additionally, with Henin's one-handed backhand, it had also enabled her to play not only with more reach but also more variety in her shots (e.g. slices instead of topspin etc.) as the situation required. John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beh ...
has called Henin's backhand "the best in men's or women's tennis."
Volleying ability
Henin, who had always been considered one of the better volleyers on tour —a player with an All-court player, all court game— soon established herself as one of the best in the modern era.
Two-time US Open Champion Tracy Austin commented, "At the net she's quite comfortable displaying excellent technique. She knows where to position herself—a contrast to many other players who get up to the net and look like a deer in headlights."
Renowned tennis coach Nick Bollettieri included Henin as one of the few female tennis players he regarded as being a successful volleyer and an adept serve-and-volleyer, alongside the likes of Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotná.
Personal life
On 16 November 2002, Henin married Pierre-Yves Hardenne in the ''Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne'', and officially adopted the name Henin-Hardenne. On 4 January 2007, she withdrew from forthcoming tournaments including the Australian Open due to personal issues. She confirmed three weeks later that she had officially separated from her husband. The same year, she reverted to using the name Henin. In the mean time, following a conflict between Henin and her father, over her tennis career and her relationship with Pierre-Yves Hardenne, Carlos Rodríguez became not only her trainer and coach, but in ways a second father figure for the duration of her active tennis career.
Since March 2011, Henin has been in a relationship with Benoît Bertuzzo, a Belgian film director and actor, and secretly married him in March 2015. On 12 September 2012, Henin announced that she was pregnant, giving birth to a girl in 2013. In 2017 she gave birth to a second child, a son.
Public life and endorsements
Henin has worn apparel manufactured by Adidas and used Wilson Sporting Goods, Wilson racquets for her tournaments. Uncharacteristically for a tennis pro, Henin always used to wear her sponsorship provided Rolex wristwatch even during matches. Later on this habit would be replicated by others on the tour, including Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
In May 2007, Henin and her coach Carlos Rodríguez started the Academy 6th Sense. At the 2009 US Open – Girls' doubles the Ukraine, Ukrainian tennis player Maryna Zanevska became the first "6th Sense player" to win a Grand Slam title.
On 30 November 2007, Henin opened her own tennis academy Club Justine N1[Thompson, Teres]
Belgian Brilliance of Justine Henin
tennisviewmag.com (in French, "N1" is pronounced almost identically to "Henin").
After retiring, Henin became involved in two Belgian reality shows in 2009. In May, she starred in ''De Twaalf Werken van Justine Henin'' – ''Les 12 travaux de Justine Henin'' (''The 12 Labours of Justine Henin''). The show followed Henin as she completed 12 personal challenges. In June 2009, she hosted a musical TV show that revolved around Belgian-Italian singer Lara Fabian.
Career statistics
Grand Slam performance timeline
Grand Slam singles finals: 12 (7 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Records
Open era records
* Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
Other records
* Only female player in decade of 2000 to 2009 to reach title match of all four grand slams at least twice.
Awards and honors
2001
* Belgian National Sports Merit Award
2002
* UEPS European Sportswoman of the Year["European Sports Journalists honor Henin and Federer"](_blank)
''De Standaard'', 8 January 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
2003
* Belgian Sportsman of the year, Belgian Sportswoman of the Year
* International Tennis Federation#Women's singles, ITF World Champion
* UEPS European Sportswoman of the Year
* Dame Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown (Belgium), Order of the Crown, by Royal Decree of H.M. King Albert II of Belgium, King Albert II
2004
* WTA Awards#Player of the Year, WTA Player of the Year (for 2003)
* Belgian Sportswoman of the Year
2005
* Family Circle/State Farm "Player Who Makes A Difference"
* Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year
2006
* Appointed UNESCO Champion for Sport
* International Tennis Federation#Women's singles, ITF World Champion.
* Belgian Sportswoman of the Year
* Member of the Belgian Sporting Team of the Year (Fed Cup team)
* UEPS European Sportswoman of the Year
* Sports Merit Award of the French Community of Belgium
2007
* Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year
* Belgian Sportswoman of the Year
* Belgian Sports Personality of the Year (career award)
* ITF World Champion
* USSA Female Athlete of the Year
* EFE Sportsperson of the Year
* UEPS European Sportswoman of the Year
* La Gazzetta dello Sport Sportswoman of the Year
2008
* Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
* WTA Awards#Player of the Year, WTA Player of the Year (for 2007)
2010
* WTA Awards#Comeback Player of the Year, WTA Comeback Player of the Year
2011
* Commander of Walloon Merit"Justine Henin , Commandeur"
''Connaître la Wallonie'', 2011. Retrieved 2011.
2016
*
International Tennis Hall of Fame
See also
* ATP World Tour records
* Belgium at the 2004 Summer Olympics
* WTA Tour records
* Grand Slam (tennis)
* Overall tennis records – Women's singles
* List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
* List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
* List of female tennis players
* List of tennis tournaments
* List of tennis rivalries
* Henin – S. Williams rivalry
* Clijsters–Henin rivalry
* Tennis records of the Open Era – Women's singles
* Tennis statistics
* World number 1 women tennis players, World number 1 women tennis players from 1883–present
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Henin, Justine
1982 births
Living people
Australian Open (tennis) champions
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Belgian female tennis players
French Open champions
Olympic gold medalists for Belgium
Olympic tennis players of Belgium
Sportspeople from Liège
People from Monte Carlo
Sportspeople from Namur (province)
Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
US Open (tennis) champions
Walloon sportspeople
Olympic medalists in tennis
Hopman Cup competitors
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
French Open junior champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Laureus World Sports Awards winners
Belgian tennis coaches
International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees
WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
ITF World Champions