Justine Henin Thinking Retirement

That’s kind of a scary title, isn’t it? Justine Henin has been one of my favorite players on the women’s tour for a long time. To hear Henin is ruminating retirement gave me pause. Seriously? How could she? Now I’ll have to pick a new favorite women’s player!

Thankfully for all of us Henin fans, it won’t be for awhile. But in the next 2-5 years, we can probably expect the Belgian to no longer be gracing the big stages with her presence.

“I’m young in life (Henin is 25) but starting to get old on the tour. I’m growing up, and I need different things,” said Henin. “Now I’ve been playing tennis for 20 years and it’s been my whole life but…you need to think about the future.”

I’ve noticed Henin’s reduced schedule over the past few months. And even though she hasn’t done anything so drastic as to pick a date when she’ll retire from the game, it’s still a little disconcerting to know it is a very real option for Henin in the not-so-crazy-distant future. Even so, Henin still securely tops the women’s rankings at No. 1. She’s still about 1700 points ahead of No. 2 Ana Ivanovic.

Hmm. So – new favorite women’s player. Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, yeah, I can’t think of anyone.

(Image: Newscom)