|
Just when the world of tennis was beginning to fathom the enigma that was Justine Henin, the ‘little Belgian that could’ announced her retirement.
Her reason to quit the game that has offered her money, titles and fame has more material than any offered by her peers who have retired (Steffi Graf excluded): “It is my life as a woman that begins now,” she said. And the confession was so brutal in its honesty that it hurt.
The diminutive Belgian will never be ranked highly in the style and beauty stakes that so often overshadows talent, but speak of her backhand and the word ‘sexy’ comes to mind.
That one languid shot, full of power and grace in equal measure, defined Henin’s sublime talent, serene beauty and supreme grace.
Much of her power came from her faultless rhythm and timing. The two properties when paired produced an intensity that was poetic in its depiction. In tennis, timing is everything and it is this attribute that set her apart from the rest, right from the period she stamped her authority to her moment of retirement.
Much of Henin’s life off the courts has been veiled in privacy and speculation. It is something that she has always preferred.
Economy in detail has been a very important trait in her personality both on and off the court. Her childhood had been lonely, largely due to the death of her mother, when she was 12, and the parting of ways with her father and the rest of her siblings.
Her four-year marriage to Pierre Yves Hardenne ended in a separation but her third French Open title last year, along with a reconnection with her family, acted as a salve to that pain.
The hyphen in her name had been removed, but Henin was on top of the world and reunited with her family.
The setting was apt: Henin’s mother had brought her to Roland Garros as a child, nurturing her dreams of being a tennis player. It was the venue where she had won four of her seven Grand Slam titles. It was also the site which had brought her family back to her.
A total of 117 weeks at the pinnacle of any sport can lead to complacency. For someone who has functioned on a diet of ambition and proper perspective, Henin knew that she was running out of aspirations. A first-round loss in Dubai did not set off alarm bells but, in retrospect, it was an indicator.
Time was running out because she was now developing an appetite for life. The transformation from player to an individual of substance was in progress. There was just one minor detail left to complete the makeover: she would have to walk away from the game. And she did.
The process is now complete. Or, in Henin’s case, it may have only just begun.
|
