Burned Out

May 14, 2008 - Justine Henin retired from professional tennis.

WTF. WTH. WTA.

“I decided,” the 25-year-old Belgian said, “to stop fooling myself and accept it.”

Can't believe it. This year gets suckier and suckier every moment. Justine Henin, WTA (Women's Tennis Association) World No. 1, with a hefty difference of 1709 in ranking points from the no.2. She's retiring. No. She retired already. Just like that. Quitting while she's on top of the world. Nooooo! I can't accept it. After Martina Hingis retired (November 1, 2007 - yes, it's a sad day for me as well), she didn't even wait for a year, another top player releases the tennis racquet.

“I always based everything on this motivation—this flame—that was in me. And once I lost that, I lost many, many things,” Henin said. “Everything became harder, I felt, deep inside, something was getting out of my grasp. I had reached my limits, and I feel strong and relieved that I could take this decision,” she said. “There are plenty of things that I can do. There are no regrets. I did everything I had to do in tennis.”

By the way, from Yahoo!, "Her announcement came a day after one of the greatest female golfers in history said she’s quitting: Annika Sorenstam, owner of 10 major titles and one of six women to complete a career Grand Slam in her sport, is walking away at the end of the season."

I got this from her site: " 20 years of passion, ten years on tour, ten years of victories, ten years of emotions and even a few defeats. Thousands upon thousands of supporters, hundreds upon hundreds of chills, and countless tears of joy... "

From Yahoo! sports again:
" In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. She has been ranked No. 1 since Nov. 13, 2006. The only Grand Slam title to elude Henin is Wimbledon, where she was runner-up in 2001 and 2006.

Winning again at Roland Garros would make no difference, either, no matter how much that event means to her. Henin dedicated her first victory there to her mother, who died of cancer when Justine was 12. When Henin won there last year, it capped a reunion with her father and siblings, from whom she’d been estranged for several years.

“That was awesome. It was a great feeling, and I am going to keep that feeling forever now,” she said. “I won Roland Garros four times, three times in a row. I don’t have to live that moment again. I know how it was.”

With her 5-foot-5 3/4 , 126-pound frame, she had to figure out how to deal with foes who could hit the ball harder. With a superb one-handed backhand, amazing speed and grit, she rose to the top of the sport. "

Here's another comment from BBC Sport Tennis:

" LTA coach Dan Thorp: Justine Henin is capable of beating any other player on the tour on any surface. Henin's variety on the backhand wing is unrivalled - in fact John McEnroe described it as the most technically complete single-handed backhand in the men's or the women's games. While most of her opponents tend to just use a two-handed backhand drive, Henin can use top-spin, attack with slice, defend with slice, drop shot and approach. "

Did I mention she won the 2004 Athens Gold Medal? Check her site for more information about her greatness.

Worse comes into worst, Ana Ivanovic was not able to defend her Qatar Telecom German Open title last week, losing points and the no.2 spot, giving it to MARIA SHARAPOVA (the tennis player I love to hate. Argh, and I hate to love.). If Justine Henin asks to be removed from the rankings, the no.2 player automatically gets the no.1 spot. If Ana Ivanovic defended her title last week, she WOULD have been the no.1 player BUT NO, and there is very large probability that MARIA SHARAPOVA would be no. 1 again. Sheesh. So, why is this a sucky year for tennis (and is obviously affecting me)? Recap of the stupidity ---- Maria Sharapova won the Aussie Open beating Ana Ivanovic in the finals, she won the Qatar Open, she also won her first clay-court title (since there were not much high-ranked players to compete with, duh) the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Ana Ivanovic was not able to defend her title/s, Roger Federer is not winning lately & his gap from the other players is not that huge anymore, AND Marat Safin is having a whole lot of difficulty reaching the 3rd round of any tournaments.

After hinting her retirement last week, she finally announced it today. So, goodbye to the flawless one-handed backhand, the killer forehand, and the speedy legs of Justine Henin. She proved that you don't have to be tall to be a top-ranked, world-class tennis player. This is just pissing me off.


MORAL: There is such a thing as burnout. Burn out. Burn. Out. I hate it. I hate it because it exists. And the fact that it happens on people you admire, it kinda brings hell on earth. Leave the tennis racquet behind, after having it for almost all of a tennis player's life, after letting it be one's ticket to success. I wonder when would I feel that level of contentment, knowing when to say "enough is enough" and just let it all go. Yeah, memories are there and she'll forever be in the history books. Contentment is still something I don't have.