It takes a lot of courage to fight and reach the top of the World. and it takes even more courage to leave that place where the whole world is at your feet. Justin Henin has done it and she has done it at the age of 25.
Just two weeks for her 26th Birthday, Henin has decided, she has goit enough of Tennis, enough of Grandslams. She has decided to quit. The rumours have come true. Justin Henin has decided to leave the game that was so far her life. it'll always be her life, but she has decided to keep away from the competition. The World's best Tennis player has decided to leave the game. It comes to me like a shock , like most of her admirers, I have no words to react.
All I can say it, that's Justin. It's her way of doing things. But one question remains, WHY? everytime on tennis court she fought it off till she won. the why she gave up at jut almost 26?
Well, this is not the first tie she had to take a brave yet harsh decision- in her life on the Court and off of it.
It was never an easy task to be Justin Henin. but this Belgian overcame all the obstacles and reached the pinnacle of this marvelous sport of tennis- full of bitter competition.
Henin started playing at the age of 5. her mother used to take her to the French Open. on one such trip in 1992, she got to see the battle for championship between her idol Steffie Graff and Monica Seles. Graff lost that match but little Justin was so inspired by the ambians of Roland Garros that she told her mother "One day I will play here and I will win."
And she made that dream come true. not once, but four times. Besides she's won one Australian Open title, and two U.S. Open titles. She also won the WTA Tour Championships twice and the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Since past three years, she's The Numero Uno of women's Tennis.
All these victories were not an easy thing for this 5 and a half feet girl, who was to play against Serenas and Venuses and Sharapovas, who were purepower players and hard heater. but Justin had got the most accomplished game, She kept the classical style alive which will be missed now. .
But all this was not a smooth riding, Justin was doing it all alone, without her family. at the age of 12, she lost her mother. She loved Pierre-Yves Hardenne and for him left her father and siblings at the age of 17. and just a year ago, that relationship broken off. She had to bear the pain of divorce. The only one who never left her, the only one who helped her come out of most of these obstacles was her coach- her friend philosopher and guide- Carlos Rodriguez.
But life gave her a chance to reunite with her family and last year, after divorce, she rejoined her siblings. in a way, last year was the best of her whole carreer. She won the French Open for third successive time, and hence, was the tripple defending champion for this years tournament, which is to begin in two weeks. That is why her decision to retire is quite surprising.
but as she has said it - she felt no sadness about her retirement because she believed it was a release from a game she had focused on for twenty years. She also said that in the future, she will be concentrating on charity and her tennis school.
So there was nothing that could keep her motivation, not even the Wimbledon title, which had always elluded her.
whatever it may be, Tennis Lovers like me wil never forget this greatest and most accomplished player of her generation, her triumphs in Paris, the sheer determinance on her face when she played, and the victorious smile that made her look even clamer when she used to lift the trophy......
Certainly, I'm gonna miss her.
