World number one Henin bows out with ‘head held high’

WORLD number one Justine Henin walked away from tennis yesterday and vowed she would not be back.

The 25-year-old Belgian announced her retirement from the sport with immediate effect at a news conference in her homeland and promised her shock decision was final.

“This is the end of a childhood dream,” said Henin, winner of 41 WTA singles titles. “It is a definitive decision. Those who know me know I am serious.

“A new future is ahead and I won’t go back on this decision.

“I have thought a lot about this. I started thinking about it late last year.

“I’m at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high.”

Henin, who won seven Grand Slam titles in a glittering career, suffered a third-round loss to Dinara Safina at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin last week and withdrew from this week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome due to fatigue.

“I have experienced everything I could have,” she said. “I have lived completely for tennis. I am relieved and proud of what I achieved.”

Last year, Henin’s compatriot Kim Clijsters quit tennis at the age of 23 and has since married and become a mother.

Henin has previously admitted she would like to have more time to study, travel and generally escape from the pressures of top-level tennis.

Belgium’s Fed Cup captain Sabine Appelmans was surprised by Henin’s decision.

“This is for me a shock,” she said. “I find it a pity but we must respect the choice.

Unable to physically match up with many of the players on tour at only 5ft 6in, Henin utilised her tremendous speed and coverage to go with her trademark shot, a devastating one-handed backhand, to vault to the top of the women’s game.

She has topped the WTA rankings for more than a year – since March 2007 – with Wimbledon the only major title to have eluded her.

Henin is the first woman to retire from tennis while ranked world number one — a position she still occupies thanks to a stunning 2007 season in the face of adversity.

She started the year by withdrawing from the Australian Open as she negotiated the separation from her husband of little more than four years, Pierre-Yves Hardenne.

That was the latest in a series of personal setbacks for Henin, who lost her mother at the age of 14 and, until last year, had been estranged from her family for many years.