Henin Again Announces Retirement from Tennis After 2011 Australian Open Loss

by Staff | January 26th, 2011, 11:20 am

17 Comments

Former No. 1 Justine Henin has announced her retirement from professional tennis — again.
ADHEREL
On Wednesday Henin announced her retirement from professional tennis due to a career-ending elbow injury she initially received last year at Wimbledon. Henin retired from the sport for the first time in March 2008 and became the first woman in the history of professional tennis to retire while ranked No. 1. She made a successful comeback to tennis at the beginning of the 2010 season, reaching the final of the 2010 Australian Open and capturing two titles (Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch).

During a fourth-round loss to Kim Clijsters at 2010 Wimbledon, Henin suffered a right elbow injury and did not play for the remainder of the 2010 season.

“I turn, and this time, an incredible page of my life,” Henin said on her website. “What a wonderful trip, I have experienced during all these years. Today I am calmer and I can create positive and rewarding look back on this experience in my life…Finally and most importantly, thanks everyone. Thanks for standing by my side during all these years. I will never forget your support and your loyalty.”

Henin was scheduled to team with Kim Clijsters in a couple weeks, hosting the U.S. in the first round of the 2011 Fed Cup.

Henin is a winner of 43 WTA singles titles — including seven Grand Slam championships — and has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 117 weeks (7th all time). She has amassed more than $20 million in career prize money and is leaving the sport with a win-loss record of 527-116.

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17 Comments for Henin Again Announces Retirement from Tennis After 2011 Australian Open Loss

dAri Says:

Rough day in tennis. Best to justine off the court! Thx for AO many moments of wonderful tennis!

January 26th, 2011 at 11:30 am

dAri Says:

SO many moments

January 26th, 2011 at 11:30 am

Anon Says:

The most graceful and smooth backhand in women’s tennis. Sorry to see her go.

January 26th, 2011 at 11:39 am

andrea Says:

oh no! the wimbledon dream is gone….

January 26th, 2011 at 11:40 am

jane Says:

Best wishes to Justine. Hope she finds happiness off the court.

January 26th, 2011 at 12:43 pm

Cindy_Brady Says:

Retiring yet again?

Not to worry Henin fans, she’ll be back. Her elbow will magically be healed in a year or two when she gets the itch again for attention.

If not, next.

Never liked her.

January 26th, 2011 at 1:01 pm

Polo Says:

Why does Henin even bother to announce her retirement? It just makes her look foolish. Can’t take these “retired” players words too seriously.

January 26th, 2011 at 1:07 pm

RSP Says:

Sad :(
She will be missed.

January 26th, 2011 at 1:46 pm

jane Says:

Okay – seriously: TX staff must control ad placement, with that ad for “elbow pain” strategically placed in the center of this article! ;0

January 26th, 2011 at 2:48 pm

steve-o Says:

Nooooo…best of luck to her in her new life.

January 26th, 2011 at 3:14 pm

Eric Says:

Oh no! This is horrible. I feel so bad for Henin. Even if she has done some sketchy unsportsmanlike things in the past, overall she has always been a truly great tennis player. It’s too bad that she wasn’t able to reproduce her true form very much after retirement, and now this injury, from more than half a year ago, has ended her career again. I don’t think she’ll be back.

January 26th, 2011 at 3:14 pm

Sonic Says:

If not for so much cheating, i’d miss her. Then again, prehaps it’s karma.

January 26th, 2011 at 3:21 pm

Cindy_Brady Says:

I’ll never forget the way Henin quit during the finals of the AO against Amelie Mauresmo. She was being outplayed that day and handled it very poorly. Instead of playing on like Nadal did against Ferrer she quit claiming a very suspicious injury. Yes, she was so injured, she played the very next tournament.

She didn’t care about the fans, or tennis, only herself. She robbed Mauresmo of the glory of match point. After that match, I lost all respect for her.

I don’t care if she’s retired, won 4 FOs, or whatever. Justine’s always been about Justine.

Please stay retired, good ridden.

January 26th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

Kimo Says:

Well, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. She looked very dejected due to her injury which put her out of play for 6 months.

I don’t think she really wanted to come back the first time. I think she thought with the power vacuum in the WTA she’d do like what Clijsters has done, i.e. win a slam right off the bat. But Henin’s game is not like Clijsters. It has a lot going on at the same time that it requires consistent matchplay in order for everything to come together.

Before Fed won his first slam, eveybody was wondering why his results don’t match his talent even though he was nearing 21 years of age. Peter Lundgren said he’s got a lot of game, he just needs time to figure out how to use it. Henin is the same way. She’s not a meat-and-potatoes power baseliner like Clijsters is. The problem is that at her age it’s hard to give yourself time before you get results, because you are working against the clock all the time.

TBH, I was never a fan of Henin’s. Didn’t like her personality and the way she looked at her coach every single point. Nevertheless, she had a unique game which was interesting to watch.

January 26th, 2011 at 8:03 pm

Kimmi Says:

hmmm! good luck to her! wishing her all the best. she was exciting to watch imo. last year oz open was fantastic. very unfortunete for the injury.

I agree with kimo..she looked very dejected after that loss to kutzy.

Hope kim wins another slam before she retires..other than the USO. This year Oz open will be great

January 26th, 2011 at 9:02 pm

Kimberly Says:

Agree with Cindy brady

January 26th, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Dory Says:

O Man! That’s sad. But her serve was never as good as it was in her first career. Considering her height, her serve was much better in the first career streak. After her comeback, her serve sucked and she constantly double faulted. But too bad, a fall on the elbow caused her career to be ended like this. She was a unique player in a lot of aspects.

January 27th, 2011 at 2:42 am

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