Henin has won 43 WTA singles titles and seven Grand Slam singles titles, including four French Open titles, one Australian Open title, and two US Open titles. She has also won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships twice and the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Tennis experts cite her mental toughness, the completeness and variety of her game, her footspeed and footwork, and her one-handed backhand (which John McEnroe has described as the best single-handed backhand in the women's or men's game) as the principal reasons for her success.
Critics and all-time-great players have made testament to Henin's talent. Upon Henin's first retirement from the WTA in the early part of the 2008 season, Billie Jean King said that "pound for pound, Henin is the best tennis player of her generation." as well as that "Justine is the best women's athlete I've ever seen." Andre Agassi said of Henin, "Justine Henin is one of the most talented women ever to have played the game of tennis." In 2007, 18 time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova said that "She is head and shoulders above everyone else right now" John McEnroe concurred, saying that Henin is "The player I most like to watch.Henin made a return to the WTA in early 2010, losing the final of the Australian Open in only her 2nd tournament back.
Henin sits at 1st place on the WTA tour of active players with most titles won (43), tied with Venus Williams. She is also the only active WTA player to have reached the finals of all four grand slams in one calendar year. She is one of only 3 active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other two being Serena Williams and Venus Williams. She has won 3 out of the 4 Grand Slams.
Contents
1 Playing style
2 Personal life
3 Tennis career
3.1 Early career
3.2 2003
3.3 2004
3.4 2005
3.5 2006
3.6 2007
3.7 2008: Retirement
3.8 2010: Return
3.9 2011
4 Public life and endorsements
5 Career statistics
5.1 Records
6 Awards and honors
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Playing style
At the 2007 French Open, Martina Navratilova said that "Henin's offense is just phenomenal ... it's sort of like we've got 'the female Federer', or maybe the guys have 'the male Justine Henin', because she is just head and shoulders above everyone else right now." Henin's footwork, balance, and court coverage—and she is adept at changing from a defensive style to an aggressive one.[citation needed] Henin's volleying skills are considered exceptional.[citation needed] She utilized serve-and-volley play with more frequency prior to her 2-year long retirement. Henin has started approaching the net more often, in addition to utilizing serve-and-volley going after quicker points rather than opting for long rallies like she used to.[citation needed]
Despite her relatively small size, Henin has a powerful serve, which has been measured at a top speed of 196 km/h (122 mph) at the 2005 Family Circle Cup. Henin's single-handed backhand, is one of the most powerful and accurate in the game. She can hit her backhand 'flat', with heavy topspin, or slice [underspin]. Her backhand can also be used to surprise her opponents with dropshots, breaking up the pattern of a groundstroke rally. Her slice backhand is regarded as one of the best of all time.[citation needed] However, Henin's forehand is generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon,[citation needed] and the stroke that she normally uses to dictate the play of a match.
Personal life
Justine Henin was born in Liège. Her father is José Henin; her mother, Françoise Rosière, was a French and history teacher who died when Justine was 12 years old. She has two brothers (David and Thomas) and a sister (Sarah). Another sister was killed in a car accident before Justine was born.
When Justine was two, her family moved to a house in Rochefort, situated next to the local tennis club, where she played tennis for the first time.
Henin's mother routinely took the young Henin across the border to France to watch the French Open.[11] Henin saw the 1992 final involving her idol Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Although Graf lost, the experience impressed Henin.
In 1995, shortly after her mother's death, Henin met her coach Carlos Rodriguez who guided her career both before her retirement in 2008 and during her 2010 comeback. Following a conflict between Justine and her father[clarification needed] over her tennis career and her relationship with Pierre-Yves Hardenne, Rodriguez soon became not only her trainer but in some ways a second father figure.
On 16 November 2002, Henin married Pierre-Yves in the Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne. On 4 January 2007, Henin withdrew from the upcoming tournaments in Australia, including the Australian Open, due to personal problems. Various news agencies reported that she intended to divorce. She later confirmed on her official website that she had separated from her husband and she also resumed her maiden name, Justine Henin, instead of Justine Henin-Hardenne. Her divorce and the serious car accident of her eldest brother helped to clear the path for Justine to make contact again with her family[clarification needed], which she communicated very openly to the local press. During the 2007 French Open, her brothers and sister attended her matches for the first time in her professional career.
Tennis career
Justine Henin is a globally recognized tennis player, who has had huge success on all surfaces of the game, and has so far achieved Grand Slam success on clay and hard courts, winning 4 French Open titles, including 3 consecutive titles between 2005 and 2007, which ties Monica Seles' record of most consecutive Roland Garros titles won by a woman. This achievement has made her the most successful female clay court player of the last decade (2000–2009). She has also won 3 Grand Slam titles on hard court, winning the US Open title in 2003 and 2007, and the Australian Open title in 2004. She has also reached the Wimbledon final 2 times, in 2001 and 2006; the only Grand Slam singles title she has not won.
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