Justine Henin

Justine Henin (born 1 June 1982), formerly known as Justine Henin-Hardenne (2002–2007), is a professional Belgian tennis player, currently ranked World No. 12.

Henin has won 43 WTA singles titles and seven Grand Slam singles titles, including four French Open titles, one Australian Open title, and two US Open titles. She has also won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships twice and the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Tennis experts cite her mental toughness, the completeness and variety of her game, her footspeed and footwork, and her one-handed backhand (which John McEnroe has described as the best single-handed backhand in the women's or men's game) as the principal reasons for her success.

Critics and all-time-great players have made testament to Henin's talent. Upon Henin's first retirement from the WTA in the early part of the 2008 season, Billie Jean King said that "pound for pound, Henin is the best tennis player of her generation." as well as that "Justine is the best women's athlete I've ever seen." Andre Agassi said of Henin, "Justine Henin is one of the most talented women ever to have played the game of tennis." In 2007, 18 time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova said that "She is head and shoulders above everyone else right now"John McEnroe concurred, saying that Henin is "The player I most like to watch." Henin made a return to the WTA in early 2010, losing the final of the Australian Open in only her 2nd tournament back.

Henin sits at 1st place on the WTA tour of active players with most titles won (43), tied with Venus Williams. She is also the only active WTA player to have reached the finals of all four grand slams in one calendar year. She is one of only 3 active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other two being Serena Williams and Venus Williams. Henin has won 3 out of the 4 Grand Slams.


stats
Country : Belgium
Residence : Ave-et-Auffe, Belgium
Date of birth : 1 June 1982 (1982-06-01)
Place of birth : Liège, Belgium
Height : 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight : 57 kg (130 lb; 9.0 st)
Turned pro : 1 January 1999
Retired : 14 May 2008
return: 4 January 2010
Plays : Right–handed (one-handed backhand)