Goodbye, Henin
I skipped the tennis news for a few days, so when I read that Justine Henin had retired, I thought it was from a match. Turns out she’s retired from professional tennis. She said she didn’t feel like it anymore, and now she’s going to get a life. First woman to quit at number one. Maria Sharapova takes over the top spot on the women’s tour, and she has true grit and power, but not Henin’s arsenal of shots. We’re going to miss that beautiful backhand. And the gravitas. While everyone around her was trying to break into modelling or fashion design or acting, she was there for the tennis.
James Martin on Justine Henin’s retirement: “The WTA tour loves to promote its eye-candy but the real eye-candy for tennis aficionados has always been Henin’s smooth and stylish game. On a tour dominated by monotonous power tennis, Henin showed there was still a place for volleys rather than swing volleys, and slice backhands rather than two-handed drives. Amelie Mauresmo has a similarly beautiful, if less effectively powerful, game, but she is fading quickly and may not be too far from retirement herself. Martina Hingis, a cagey counter-puncher—gone. Ivanovic hits a clean ball that appeals to purists, yet she’s still in the mold of the “Big Babe Tennis†popularized by Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles. Women’s tennis may have a surplus of pretty faces, but it’s just lost one of the prettiest games ever.“
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
May 17th, 2008 at 01:16
I felt really sad when Henin retired. I thought it would be just for some time, and that she’ll come back playing again. However, being removed from the rankings mean she’s going to be gone… for a really long time. Waah.
To add insult to injury, Shriekapova becomes no. 1. Noooo. What’s happening to the tennis world. Everyone’s just playing from the baselines.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:18
It was a sad day. She was one of the reasons I got hooked on tennis (even more than the Fed) – I even named my daughter Justine. :) I’ve always believed she was the female Federer (or is Federer the male Justine?), and ever since following both their careers, I’ve always been somewhat frustrated at the Slams – either Roger wins or Justine wins, never both – until last year’s US Open. I thought that should be a good sign for this year.
And she retired just as she was loosening up and the the world was starting to know her. Sad, sad, sad …
May 17th, 2008 at 16:54
Henin made me switch from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed one. Ever since seeing that sweet backhand of hers for the first time, I thought 2-handers were rather sissy.
Sad day for women’s tennis, but a great day for Justine. She’s finally free from it all.
May 17th, 2008 at 19:23
yeah, i live in Belgium so you could imagine my grief!!!!
She’s just indeed there for the tennis, no fashion tralala when she plays–really a pity that she stopped, but she’s tired, her last play wasn’t that good anymore.
I think she’ll be teaching tennis for kids soon….or will have a well-deserved break in Monaco and find a man….
May 18th, 2008 at 00:47
Say, whatever happened to Mary Pierce?(she has that appropriate piercing blue eyes that says INTENSITY. ) I remember in the late 90’s she was the WTA pinup and Nike lead endorser; Anna Kournikova, we guys prefer to watch as a porn star instead… Davenport is a classy looking girl, but she’s too tall to be sexy, kinda like Olive Oyl. (Now, Maria is also very tall, but she IS the “IT” girl.) I’m no tennis fan, but I prefer watching women’s matches, hehehe. By the way, Sampras is balding. And to think I used to envy his thick mane back in the days. Hah, I can’t wait to see the teenage Rafael Nadal Or Roger Federer lose their hair someday. (Remember the Agassi Curly locks in the 80’s, complete with short shorts?) That would prove that the universe is fair, i.e, if its in your genes, you will get bald eventually, no matter how gorgeous you may be. Now I’m neither a tennis star, nor am I gorgeous, but at least my hairpiece wouldn’t be blown off even by a wind tunnel turbine.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:32
I was just thinking of infamous tennis parents, beginning with Jim Pierce, who was banned from the tour for beating up his daughter. Then there’s Jelena Dokic’s father who attacked people in the audience. Mirjana Lucic’s father. Richard Williams. Peter Graf who went to prison for tax evasion. Sharapova’s father with his throat-slashing gesture. Lleyton Hewitt always travelled with both his parents but maybe he just wanted family around? Marat Safin advised his sister Dinara to drop their mom as coach. Don’t forget Martina Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor. Now Djokovic’s parents. But I do enjoy watching the tribe of Baghdatis.
May 19th, 2008 at 02:32
Notwithstanding Henin’s hall-of-fame career, I always got an impression that Justine didn’t totally enjoy playing tennis. But, what do I know? I’m just an armchair analyst.
So, what does Mary Carillo think? “This is the most devastating retirement since Borg. She’s No. 1 in the world but obviously doesn’t feel like No. 1, and she has the kind of temperament where she’s going to listen to her gut and not look at the rankings. She’s made that dreaded decision to be happy. I think this is a very human response to her own circumstances.”
And if you still don’t get it, Goran Ivanisevic shares the same sentiments: “I don’t understand it. She was No.1 and she retires. She was such an unbelievable player and could have won more Grand Slams. I don’t know why she did it. Maybe it’s a woman thing. I don’t understand women. It’s very sad for tennis — a big loss.”
May 20th, 2008 at 12:28
Sad? try depressing! Henin and Mauresmo are the only players who know how to play real tennis!
April 11th, 2009 at 21:03
I saw the news about her retirement and was so saddened by it. I really admire her
because she was so silent in her games. I couldn’t even imagine myself playing tennis
because I would have cursed my loud mouth to hell. She’s one of my favorites. I
really hope that she will enjoy her relaxed life now. I also hope that she will still
appear on t.v. because I will surely miss her.