Justine Henin to retire

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AtmYZ3Y8s1ah9XtsOGyCUkI5nYcB?slug=ap-heninquits&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

Somewhere, Sportschick is doing a little dance.

 

Always trying to top Sorenstam, she is.

 

Wow. If true, I wouldn't have called it. Some time off, sure, she hasn't been at the top of her game lately, but to retire. . . damn. I'll have no one to root against now.

And Doc, no. The sport needs villains, and the men sure as hell don't have one right now.

 

^BC-TEN--Henin Quits, 1st Ld-Writethru,0250

^Belgian media: Henin to quit tennis

^Eds: UPDATES with details.

^AP Photo MBER101

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) ﾗ Justine Henin is quitting professional tennis, according to a Belgian newspaper.
The 25-year-old Henin, the top-ranked player in the world, will make the announcement Wednesday, Het Nieuwsblad reported.
Henin has been battling fatigue and not playing well.
This year she lost to Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Italy's Francesca Schiavone. Last week she was ousted from the Berlin Open in the third round and this week she pulled out of the Italian Open.
Henin's retirement will come a year after Belgium's Kim Clijsters said farewell to competitive tennis. Clijsters has since married and become a mother.
Henin's rise to the top began in the mid-1990s.
Despite a troubled personal life ﾗ her mother died in 1995, her father did not speak to her for eight years and she divorced in 2007 ﾗ Henin won an Olympic gold medal and all major tournaments except Wimbledon.
Her best year was 2007, when she earned more than $5 million winning 63 of her 67 matches in 10 tournaments, including two grand slam events.



Just moved on the AP wire

 

Wow. That makes the French Open even more up for grabs.

I never really rooted for her, but I enjoyed her style of play.

 

She'll make a comeback before she turns 30. Book it.

 

Agreed. Tennis is like boxing. Everyone tries a comeback at some point.

 

At least she's not retiring in the middle of a Grand Slam final, I guess.

 

I wish more athletes would walk away from their sport when they've got enough money and don't need to keep going on forever. Hell, more power to her for wanting to move on. Sure, she might come back, but I don't think it would be for an extended period of time.

 

Anyone think she got knocked up?

I was going to make a comment about her quitting, but instead I'll just say she was a hell of a competitor if not always the most sportsmanlike.

 

It's possible she's pregnant, although I don't know that she's involved with anyone right now. If she is, might explain the fatigue that she's mentioned a coupla times in the last 2-3 weeks, and it would explain her quitting without playing a final French Open.