Justine Henin set to retire from professional tennis

The word coming out of Belgium is that Justine Henin is to announce her retirement from tennis. Some of the papers say it will be with immediate effect while others think it will be after the Olympics. Fatigue seems to have played a part in this.

There is a press conference for later today where Justine will say her intentions.

It's a great shame she has decided to retire , she was one of the players who has finesse round the court and is a pleasure to watch. She isn't a grunter either which is another reason why I like to watch her play. She will be sadly missed but I hope she defends her French Open crown and says goodbye at Wimbledon. But I do believe she will go after the Olympics.

I'm a big fan of hers. Her all-round play mainly the one-handed backhand is her trademark shot that I love to watch all the time... Her superior court coverage, man its going to be a huge miss for the tennis lovers if this is true. Two great Belgian Womens retiring within a year when they are both young is a huge loss...

If she indeed retires, I wish her well for her future...

Henin has retired with immediate effect. She says a decision she will not go back on. A great player gone at the age of 25 , with only Wimbledon missing from resume.

A career of 41 titles including Australian Open , French Open , US Open and the Olympic gold.

I must admit I didn't see her going with immediate effect , I thought she'd hang on for the Wimbledon at least. I wish her well for whatever she does in the future.

She is not old, she is only 25.

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She said she doesn't recover as well as I did when I was 20, and she is at the end of the road. I don't agree, Mary Pierce won her first Roland Garros when she was 25. It's not old, i think she makes a mistake by retiring.

I see that she had health problems in 2004 and 2005 but after she made a good season in 2006 and 2007.

i thought she looked like a man

best of luck to justine henin in the future

Not as manly as Mauresmo, that girl needs a paper bag or something

Justine today asked the WTA to remove her points from the rankings. This has never been asked before from any retiring player , usually you just wait for your points to run out.

it had been a record breaking season for world number 1 Justin Henin last year , 10 titles including the French and US Open .....and culminating in the season ending Sony Ericsson Championship . She also became the first women in tennis history to earn over $5 million in a season ..

Starting 2008 as the clear world no 1 it was business as usual ....titles at Sydney and Antwerp seemed to suggest Justine Henin was as determine as ever, a shock loss to Maria Sharapova at the quarter finals of the Australian Open where Henin was really hammered 6-4 6-0 , was considered a rare blip in form . However a loss to Serena Williams 6-2 6-0 in Miami and a recent defeat by Dinara Safina in the German Open led some to believe all was not well with the Belgian .

Then it was reported that Henin had withdrawn from the Italian Open due to fatigue , which resulted in a $20,000 fine by the WTA . It was expected though for Henin to return for the French Open which she had won for the last three years .

But this week Justin Henin announced her immediate retirement from tennis , saying

"This is the end of a child's dream. This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious. I thought long about this. I started thinking about it late last year. I was at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high."

Henin is the first player in tour history to retire while ranked world no 1 , she will be remembered as one of the all time greats in womens tennis ....7 grand slams (4 French Opens , 2 US Opens, 1 Australian Open) , only Wimbledon eluded her grasp . Another 27 titles plus an Olympic Gold in Athens means Henin leaves with quite a record .

I cant believe it ....first Kim Clijsters last year ...now Justine Henin ...a real shame .....but the demands of top class tennis were getting too much for her i suppose ....