Tennis' No. 1 Woman Retires

Belguim's Justine Henin Calls It Quits At Age 25; Won 7 Grand Slams

(AP)  Justine Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No. 1.

The 25-year-old Belgian made the surprising announcement at a news conference Wednesday, less than two weeks before the start of the French Open. She has won that clay-court major championship four times, including each of the past three years.

"This is the end of a child's dream," Henin said. "It is a new beginning for me. I feel like I already lived three lives. I gave the sport all I could and took everything it could give me. I take this decision without the least bit of regrets. It is my life as a woman that starts now."

Henin is the first woman to quit the sport while ranked No. 1, according to the WTA Tour.

Her announcement came a day after one of the greatest female golfers in history said she's quitting: Annika Sorenstam, owner of 10 major titles and one of six women to complete a career Grand Slam in her sport, is walking away at the end of the season.

Henin, though, won't have any sort of farewell tour. She is quitting immediately.

"This is a definitive decision," she said, ruling out any chance of a comeback.

Henin won 10 tournaments last year, but has been in one of the worst slumps of her career this season. She lost last week in the third round of the German Open and pulled out of this week's Italian Open, citing fatigue.

"I thought long about this," Henin said at a news conference, her voice cracking and eyes watering. "I started thinking about it late last year. I was at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high."

Henin, who has battled through injuries and a divorce, had a standout season in 2007, winning two Grand Slams, eight other tour titles and more than US$5 million.

However, after winning her home tournament in Antwerp in February, she has been on one of the worst skids of her career, failing to go beyond the quarterfinals at any event.

Henin's year began with a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January, followed by a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing by Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open in April, the worst loss for a top-ranked player in nine years.

At last week's German Open, Henin lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to Dinara Safina.

"At the end of the match in Berlin, (retirement) all of a sudden was there as something evident," she said. "I decided to stop fooling myself and accept it."

Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and her brown hair in a ponytail, she spoke in French for nine minutes. She never lost her composure and held the microphone firmly.

But her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, broke down in tears, saying, "Because of her, I am somebody."

In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin also won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. The only Grand Slam title to elude Henin is Wimbledon, where she was runner-up in 2001 and 2006.

"Winning Wimbledon would not make me happier than I am," she said. "I could never dream of Wimbledon. It was destiny. I didn't feel myself capable. It was too much for me."

Henin has been ranked No. 1 since Nov. 13, 2006, except for a seven-week period last year when Sharapova held the top spot. Henin has won about US$20 million in career prize money.

She was away from the tour for months at a time in 2004 and 2005 because of an energy-sapping blood virus and assorted injuries, including to her knee and back.

Throughout her career, Henin has had to beat the odds.

With her slight, 1.66-meter (5-foot-5) frame, she had to battle the giants in the game. With a superb one-handed backhand, amazing speed and endless determination, she rose to the top of the sport.

"Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women's tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none," WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said in a statement. "It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her own rules, in the very best sense of those words."

Henin lost her mother to cancer when she was 12 and only reunited with her father and family last year after almost a decade of separation. During her difficult youth, tennis gave her a sense of mission and the sport became all-encompassing.

In early 2007, she divorced from Pierre-Yves Hardenne after four years of marriage.

Throughout last season, Henin said she had finally found a balance in her life between personal self-fulfillment and doggedly pursuing tennis titles.

Last year, Belgium's Kim Clijsters - a former No. 1 player - retired at 23. She has since married and become a mother.