Rumor has it that Justine Henin will return to competitive tennis in January. Do I feel the need to qualify my headline with a hedge? Uhm.. Hell no! I told you in January this day would come. I felt it even more when Serena started dominating the slams. And when Kim Clijsters returned three weeks ago, to much fanfare and early success, I knew it was a done deal. Reports say she’s been training again, ostensibly in preparation for some exhibitions. However, there is this:
Henin’s close friend and former coach Carlos Rodriguez said: “There’s nobody telling me of a return. We’ve not spoken about that. I am really astonished.”
But he did confirm that “she is training … to get herself in shape as she’s not played for a year.”
However, his wife was quoted as telling Vers l’Avenir that “something is in the offing but I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
Henin is scheduled to play exhibition matches at the end of the year in Belgium and Dubai.
LOL, Carlos, good one. He’s as reliable as Brad Childress insisting that the door was closed on Brett Favre… a mere three weeks before it wasn’t. I’d be truly shocked if she didn’t go through with it now.
Here I explained the reasons behind the retirement and why I thought she should simply take a break. Her retirement left women’s tennis with a big competitive void because “[w]ith the demise of Henin they lose the one and only top woman who made tennis her priority.” When I wrote that post back in May 2008, I thought Henin would be tortured by the “I Could Beat that Girl Like a Drum” factor. Indeed, last January, a little bird told me exactly what was going through Justine’s mind:
She’s either practicing that beautiful backhand or….
Pounding her head against the coffee table after watching another crew of D-list tennis players contending for the Australian Open title she could win without breaking a sweat.
Also on Justine’s mind:
“Ivanovic and Jankovic? Those two covergirl mental midgets make Kim Clijsters look like Chris Evert. Why did I retire again?“
“Venus? In it for the money everywhere but Wimbledon. Why did I retire again?”
“The Russians? Couldn’t shoot fish in a barrel. Why did I retire again?”
“Serena? I can fake an injury better than her. Why did I retire again?”
It wound up being even worse than we thought, with mentally fragile players ascending to #1 and then collapsing like dominoes. Safina, Jankovic, Ivanovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva… just don’t have it. The final straw was watching Serena dominate the slams and seeing her hated foe, Clijsters, eagerly return.
Serena vs. Justine was the rivalry that never really got going. I say that because for a good deal of the time Justine was #1, Serena was not practicing or playing her best (guess what – the two go hand in hand). I believe Justine was clearly the better player. But Serena could have changed that. She hasn’t ever faced a challenge like Justine head-on, without excuses. I’d like to see that matchup now, with Clijsters, Jankovic, Dementieva, Sharapova and Venus also in the mix. Women’s tennis could be radically different at this time next year.
Passing Shots 
Posted on August 31, 2009
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