In one of the most surprising disclosures of recent times, Justine Henin quit tennis citing fatigue at her prime.
There were times when sporting personalities use to say that for a player to make debut in any discipline, he needs to have gain a certain amount of experience and for that by the time the player comes on to the world stage, he or she would be in the mid 20s. Cut to 2008, and we see players getting off the boil and many bidding farewell at the same age. Justine Henin, all of 25 yrs, gave a shock to her fans and the tennis fraternity by saying good bye to something she might not imagine a life without. A player who is still touted as the best one when it came to playing on the backhand side, Justine retired from competitive tennis just days before the commencement of the French Open, an event which she could have got a patent for.
May be its fatigue or the personal grind she has gone through all her life, the fact remains that tennis has lost probably its final player of touch and finance. Ever since the Swiss Miss Martina Hingis bid adeu again at 25 in 2007, players of her type are virtually non existent. Justine carried forward the legacy of the likes of Chris Evert, Steffi Graff and offcourse Hingis, but with her bowing out right at the top, tennis lovers will miss the spectacle of watching an artist on court, especially when it comes to women’s game.
So what made the Belgian so special. Since the age of five, she had a dream to fulfill. Even with her average height and a normal built, she practiced long and hard in a country absolutely unheard off when it came to tennis. Making her WTA debut in 1999, Henin grew in stature with every event. She had a passion for the sport, a desire to reach where her icons (Steffi Graff and Martina Navaratilova) were. During the summer of 1992, she was taken to the Roland Garros by her father to watch the final between Graff and Seles. On that day she said that one day she will lift the trophy by winning the French Open. Just a decade later and she was crowned the champion. Now after having won over $ 17 million in prize money ( seven grand slam titles including being unbeaten in paris for the past three events) people will say she had no troubles in life.
But with success comes the bogey of carrying the same. Not everyone is master at it. The talented Belgian had a turmoil period with her marriage and beyond. Her coach became her husband and just a few months back she came back square one, being single. Probably the fact that the ttouring schedule is hectic and to take personal intricacies along with that would certainly be too much for anyone, leave alone a world class player like her. May be a combination of hectic flight schedules between events and the tense personal life lead her to make such an emotional and truly unimaginable decision.
Am sure during the course of time, she will return and give back to the sport which has taken her to the pinnacle of success.
There were times when sporting personalities use to say that for a player to make debut in any discipline, he needs to have gain a certain amount of experience and for that by the time the player comes on to the world stage, he or she would be in the mid 20s. Cut to 2008, and we see players getting off the boil and many bidding farewell at the same age. Justine Henin, all of 25 yrs, gave a shock to her fans and the tennis fraternity by saying good bye to something she might not imagine a life without. A player who is still touted as the best one when it came to playing on the backhand side, Justine retired from competitive tennis just days before the commencement of the French Open, an event which she could have got a patent for.
May be its fatigue or the personal grind she has gone through all her life, the fact remains that tennis has lost probably its final player of touch and finance. Ever since the Swiss Miss Martina Hingis bid adeu again at 25 in 2007, players of her type are virtually non existent. Justine carried forward the legacy of the likes of Chris Evert, Steffi Graff and offcourse Hingis, but with her bowing out right at the top, tennis lovers will miss the spectacle of watching an artist on court, especially when it comes to women’s game.
So what made the Belgian so special. Since the age of five, she had a dream to fulfill. Even with her average height and a normal built, she practiced long and hard in a country absolutely unheard off when it came to tennis. Making her WTA debut in 1999, Henin grew in stature with every event. She had a passion for the sport, a desire to reach where her icons (Steffi Graff and Martina Navaratilova) were. During the summer of 1992, she was taken to the Roland Garros by her father to watch the final between Graff and Seles. On that day she said that one day she will lift the trophy by winning the French Open. Just a decade later and she was crowned the champion. Now after having won over $ 17 million in prize money ( seven grand slam titles including being unbeaten in paris for the past three events) people will say she had no troubles in life.
But with success comes the bogey of carrying the same. Not everyone is master at it. The talented Belgian had a turmoil period with her marriage and beyond. Her coach became her husband and just a few months back she came back square one, being single. Probably the fact that the ttouring schedule is hectic and to take personal intricacies along with that would certainly be too much for anyone, leave alone a world class player like her. May be a combination of hectic flight schedules between events and the tense personal life lead her to make such an emotional and truly unimaginable decision.
Am sure during the course of time, she will return and give back to the sport which has taken her to the pinnacle of success.
Author: Asif Islam, A dedicated sports lover since 1989, following closely the various aspects of popular sports worldwide. Writting articles and analytical reports on players and events since 2003.Email - asif2311@rediffmail.com
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