TAG | Svetlana Kuznetsova
Justine Henin, former woman’s World No.1 announced her retirement from active tennis due to her elbow injury. On her website, the 28-year-old Belgian said that the doctors told her that she could not continue her profession at this high level as her elbow is too fragile. In Melbourne last week, Henin’s final match was a third-round defeat to Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova. Since her third-round loss in the Australian Open to Kuznetsova, she had undergone multiple medical examinations.
During her career, she won seven Grand Slams and in 2008, she had quit the sport first when she was ranked number one in the world before returning to the WTA Tour in Jan 2010. Henin won the US Open twice, the Australian Open in 2004 and the French Open on four occasions. Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam title to elude her. There she was the beaten finalist in 2001 and 2006. In 2004, she had won Olympic gold.
At the beginning of the 2010 season, she had a change of heart and returned to the game, reaching the final at the Australian Open. The rest of her comeback season was not as reassuring. In her fourth-round loss to Kim Clijsters, she fractured a ligament in her right elbow.
Henin said that she was shocked, when doctors asked her to give up tennis. The same injury has forced her to call time on her playing days for good. She added that she suffered a lot last week and she has rarely been spared the pain. She believed that her will would take the upper hand. She has accepted that her career finally ends.
French Open · Grand Slam title · Justine Henin · Kim Clijsters · Svetlana Kuznetsova
As the clay court season comes to a climax at the end of May, there is a lot of anticipation from fans and players. The dynamics of the 2010 French Open are certainly more uncertain on the women’s side than in the men’s draw.
The rankings can be misleading, when it comes to selecting favorites for winning Roland Garros. Serena Williams (#1) and her sister Venus Williams (#3) are not the favorites to capture the title in Paris even though they may start with such high rankings. Both Williams sisters had very little match play since the Australian Open. In Rome, Serena and Venus, Jelena Jankovic beat both recently. Despite of ranking lower than the Williams sisters are, Jankovic poses a bigger threat at this year’s French Open.
Caroline Wozniacki, the young Danish superstar ranked a career high #2, but she has had an inconsistent clay court season so far. At the Ponte Vedra Beach, she won the title but had some early round losses in recent tournaments. Nevertheless, Wozniacki can be the “dark horse” at this year’s French Open and make a similar run to the one she had at last year’s US Open.
No one is really talking about last year’s finalists Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina. Both of them have their chances of repeating last year’s results are not favorable and ranked outside the top five.
At this year’s Roland Garros, the most exciting conversation is about the Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. To have these superstars back in the game, the tennis world is thrilled. Although they ranked outside the top 10, they are the strong contenders for the title. To Henin’s collection of four French Open trophies, she will be looking forward to add another title to her collection. There is no doubt that the French crowd will heavily favor the Belgians.
