Justine Henin Chooses "Life" Over Tennis
Less than two weeeks before the French Open, defending champion, Justine Henin, has abruptly ended her professional tennis career. Henin, who is the first female tennis pro to retire while being ranked Number One, said in a brief press conference today that she had been thinking about retiring for several months and that she would not change her mind. Henin, who said that she has won enough titles and money to last a
couple lifetimes, was looking forward to a break from the stress and pressure of being a top-ranked professional tennis player. Few can truly appreciate the amount of dedication and sacrifices in terms of personal life, outside interests, etc. that are required to remain at the very top of professional tennis. When Bjorn Borg walked away at age 26, tennis fans were shocked. When Gabriela Sabatini retired at age 26, her fans were saddened. When Kim Clijsters retired a year ago at age 23, she surprised many in the tennis world. All of these players lost the desire to continue competing. A year ago, Henin sounded as if she planned to play for a while. However, it seems that the emotional toll of her divorce and reunion with her family over the past year, as well as the constant challenges of injuries, have led Henin to choose to walk away from professional tennis. Henin said she was looking forward to traveling, possibly studying, as well as simply the chance to live a more normal “life.” It is sad for professional tennis to lose such a talented tennis player in the prime of her career, but life is ultimately about so much more than what happens within the lines of a tennis court. We wish Justine well in the years to come…
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