Although incredibly sad, you had to see this coming. Today, Justine Henin has retired for a second time; this time it's forever. The elbow injury she sustained last year at Wimbledon has ended her career as the pain has not subsided. You wonder why she came to Australia in the first place, but as she explains in her letter,
"I have rarely been spared from the pain, those last months were very hard. Time has passed, and the doubts have grown, and only return to the courts would give me answers. Not the answer I was hoping for... unfortunately.".
Justine Henin was my favourite player to watch and I will remember Justine as a truly special player. Her all-court versatility was so refreshing and who can forget that perfect, flowing one-handed backhand. At 5"5 she was able to combat the much bigger and stronger women on the tour with a combination of pure talent, finess, and guile. I'll never forget her SF match against Capriati in the 2003 US Open. Henin was 2 points from losing the match no less than 4 times. It was a grueling affair which left Henin on IV afterwards, but somehow she came back the very next day and bested Clijsters for her first US Open title. She has won 4 French Open titles, 2 US Open titles,1 Australian Open title as well as olympic gold, but the one which eludes her, the one she came back for, will be forever missing from her CV; Wimbledon.
Merci Justine, et bonne chance.
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