Justine Henin's sports career did not last long, at the age of 26 she left tennis, but the Belgian beauty managed to become a real queen, having won fifty WTA tournaments, seven Grand Slam titles, as well as interrupt the hegemony of the invincible Williams sisters. Justine was recognized many times as an athlete of the year in her homeland, and in 2016 she was immortalized in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Universal Soldier
Many tennis experts noted the unique style of the game Justine Henin. Short, thin, she stood out sharply against the background of physically developed, athletic tennis players of the early 2000s. At that time, the ball was ruled by powerful sisters Williams, Amelie Moresmo, Russian girls who preferred an aggressive power style of play based on powerful punches and constant pressure.
However, Justine was distinguished by the highest technique of the game, a huge tactical variety, which allowed her to best prepare for matches with any rivals. She felt equally good on all types of coatings, having achieved victories in most tennis competitions.
Nevertheless, the Belgian had a particular advantage on slow ground coatings, due to the fact that the difference in physical power between the athletes was leveled here and the ability to play the ball for a long time and methodically on the back line, exhausting opponents with dizzying combinations. In this Justine Henin was not equal, and she always won on clay courts Roland Garros.
Takeoff
The future Queen of Tennis was born in Liege in 1982. At the age of five, she first picked up a racket and began to persistently and methodically move towards success. Since 1996, the girl began to participate in international junior competitions.
Justine Henin won a number of major tournaments, and at the age of 15 she received wildcards to participate in the French Open among girls and, unexpectedly for many, she defeated more physically powerful rivals, some of whom were three to four years older than her . In the same season, the Belgian won her first ITF series tournaments, and a year later added three more trophies to her collection.
In 1999, she made it to the main tournament of the French Open, losing only to the strongest Lindsay Davenport, which allowed the young and fragile Belgian to break into the first hundred of the WTA rating. A year later, Justine consolidated her position in the elite of world women's tennis, making her way into the fourth round of the prestigious tennis tournament of the Grand Slam.
Queen of the dirt fields
In 2001, a native of Liège made a real breakthrough in her career. She started the season with two victories in the WTA series, at one of the tournaments she beat the eldest of the Williams sisters and broke into the top ten of the world ranking. On the grass courts of Wimbledon, she reached the finals, where this time Venus Williams was able to take revenge for her defeat and did not allow the impudent Belgian to take her first Grand Slam title.
Tennis found a new star among women, which the strongest athletes on both sides of the Atlantic began to fear. In 2002, she continued to methodically go upstairs, collecting trophies at various tournaments, but the Williams sisters were still stronger - in six out of seven matches, Justine lost to the Americans.
In 2003, Henin managed to move to a qualitatively different level in her game, after which she confidently began to get close to the rank of the first racket of the world. This season, she made a kind of gold double by winning two Grand Slam tournaments - Roland Garros and the US Open, and in both cases, the audience watched the Belgian confrontation. Justine Henin twice won in the finals of these tournaments her compatriot Kim Clijsters.
These achievements allowed the girl to finish the year in the status of the first racket of the world, after which she received the title of athlete of the year in her homeland. The following year, she began just as briskly, winning the Australian Open, but due to illness she missed most of the season.
Early care
From 2005 to 2007, Justine Henin was undoubtedly the strongest tennis player in the world. Many experts still remember her impressive series of 24 victories in 2005, which resulted in 4 tournaments won, including a victory at the French Open. Only unfortunate injuries prevented her from successfully playing in the remaining tournaments of the season, but the girl took her to the next two years.
2006 could rightfully be called the year of the Belgian prima of women's tennis. She played in the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, however, winning only one of them. She also won the final WTA tournament, which allowed her to finish the season again in first place in the overall standings.
The peak of a career for Justine was 2007. She missed the Australian Open but was simply unstoppable in the remaining tournaments of the season. The girl won two of the three Grand Slam tournaments, became the first in the WTA final tournament. She finished the season with 63 wins and only 4 losses.
Unfortunately, Justine Henin in 2008 quite unexpectedly announced the end of her career, explaining this by psychological fatigue and lack of motivation. Some time later, she tried to return and even entered the top ten ranking, but in 2011 she finally completed her performances.
Justin Henin: personal life
In 2002, the Belgian beauty married tennis coach Pierre-Yves Ardenne, but their marriage did not last long and broke up in 2007.
In 2015, Justine officially formalized relations with the father of her daughter Benoit Bertuzzo. Two years later, she became a mother a second time, having given birth to a son named Victor.