How about we start a thread where there are NICE articles from the media about Justine? B) I know that doesn't happen very often (well especially when they come from the States), but this is a great one from the USA, so I'm kinda shocked :wub:

So go on folks, post any NICE articles you find about the Queen of Tennis, Justine :wub: :wub: :bow: :bow:

Little girl, found
It's been Henin against the world, and she's winning
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...nin/index.html


Frank Deford

Who is the toughest cookie, the hardest case in sports today?
I'm not so sure that it is some 300-pound demon of a football player or some death-defying racecar driver, but, instead, a little brittle bit of a woman, who, in the old boxing parlance, is pound-for-pound the best, as good as she is determined, as intriguing as she is distant.
The pounds only add up to 125 ... maybe. At 5-foot-5, she stands across the net from women who tower over her. She has been a single-minded package of torment.

For much of her life she has been a virtual orphan. Her mother, whom she adored, died when she was 12, and soon she was estranged from the rest of her family.

Each year she retreated deeper into her sport, but only as a competitor. She would be alone in the crowded locker room -- however briefly she would stay there. Some of her implacable actions upon the court -- selfish, they seemed; even unsporting and certainly unladylike -- only added to the resentment from her bigger rivals.
But if she would not mix with the other players, and if she did break with her family, she did find love away from the game with an early marriage -- yet that too has now shredded.

So often has it been Justine Henin against the world, and most often the world has been bested.

She now comes to Wimbledon after winning her third straight French Open. She has also won Grand Slams in the U.S. and Australia and an Olympic gold medal. Four years ago, when she captured her U.S. Open, she did it only a few hours after she won a long, excruciating, come-from-behind semifinal that lasted well past midnight and forced her, in victory, into the hospital, where she needed treatment for exhaustion and dehydration. It was the kind of epic courage that many men would never credit a woman.

At a time when athletes, men and women alike, loom taller and more muscular, the little Belgian is like some throwback to another time. So, too, in her sport, in an age of two-handed backhands, her one-handed shot: She strikes it with a power and glory that seem even to overwhelm the memory of backhands past. It is as beautiful as it is devastating, even more classic than Roger Federer's.
What makes Henin even more interesting right now is that she is trying to open up and find a joy that her coach says he has not seen in her since she was 11 -- before her mother died. Since the break-up of her marriage a few months ago, Justine has turned back to her family, reunited with her father and her brothers and sister.

Her game is not best-suited to grass, but she has twice gone three sets before losing in the finals at Wimbledon -- the only major championship she has not won. Now, contentment does not necessarily equate with victory. In fact, all sorts of athletes with personal troubles have found sanctuary upon the field of play. A whole heart doesn't necessarily make up for a weak second serve.

Still, should Henin win Wimbledon and complete the cycle of Grand Slam championships, it would not be so much a happy ending as it would be a new chapter.

Aww I read this yesterday.....:hug:

Had to laugh a little when he called her cookie! :lol:
Justine doesn't remind me of a cookie really :lol:


Oh and our belgian pocket rocket is up 1st on court no.2 tomorrow (11am)

Another Awwwww article (I especially like the last couple of paragraphs)
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/articl...personalization

Zen is Key to Top Tennis - Henin
Friday, 29 June, 2007


What to do during a rain delay? It is an age-old problem here at Wimbledon. How long will the rain last? Should the players try to eat something, find somewhere to practise or simply relax?

One person who has a fair amount of experience in weather-breaks is Justine Henin. The Belgian was forced off court in the latter stages of her third round victory over Elena Vesnina, for a rain break lasting just over one hour, but then strolled to victory on her return to court. So what is the secret of the perfect rain break?

“The delay was the toughest part of the game today,” explained the confident number one seed. “I was waiting to see how long it would last to see whether I should have something to eat.

"I did end up having something in the end because I’d obviously had breakfast very early today since I was first up on court. It can get tiring, having to wait patiently – but that’s good practice for me!”

Patience is a virtue, or so the saying goes, and it is the kind of quality seldom seen among young tennis players. “I used to be so impatient,” said Henin.

“Now that I have a little more maturity I can sit back and accept weather breaks. In 2001, when I had to wait to play the final against Venus on the Sunday, you wouldn’t believe the amount of nervous energy I burned up!

"Nowadays I’m more Zen (I have a Zen mp3 player B) input from TJ :P). It comes with age and maturity.”

Over-eagerness can also be a problem before rain breaks even come. “The clouds put pressure on you,” she continued. “I looked up, saw them coming and for a second, I was desperate to get the break before they came.

"But then I thought, ‘No, just remain calm’. In the past, I definitely tried to accelerate when the rain was coming, but now I just try to forget the elements, even things like the wind here. One point at a time…”

Rain delays are one thing, but long weekends are another. After three matches and barely more than two cumulative hours of tennis, Queen Justine now finds herself with two-and-a-half days off before her fourth round tie against Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder. How will she deal with that “delay”?

“The rest will do me good. I haven’t played much tennis here but I was a little tired after Eastbourne (where she beat defending Wimbledon Champion Amelie Mauresmo in a third-set tie-break). I’ve got training this afternoon and I’ll be playing every day.

"Off the court, I’m watching Rome on DVD but I won’t see much of that tonight as the little monsters are coming!”

The little monsters are of course her nieces and nephews. And since a very public reconciliation with her family prior to this year’s French Open, Henin has been much more Zen, on and off court.

It's just unbelievable at how open and confident she is now, :bow: :wub: :wub:

I'm just so happy that she is like this and she is so happy .... it's wonderful

I'm just so proud of her :wub: :wub:

wow! It seems like the US press is finally opening up to her :)

Its so nice to see her smiling so often now..hope she continues this good form and confidence :ok:

Seems like the UK broadsheets ;) love her!


Brightest prize beckons majestic Henin


Wilrijk Sports Centre on the outskirts of Antwerp may lack the splendour, history and cachet of Wimbledon, but it was within the walls of this unprepossessing grey block on an equally grey October day a decade or so ago that Justine Henin's epic journey began.

Belgium might be renowned for its cyclists, middle-distance athletes and footballers but given the nation's humble standing in tennis, nobody among the small band of spectators watching Henin and her future rival Kim Clijsters contest the final of an under-14 tournament could have foreseen that come the summer of 2007, the mighty mite would be the top ranked woman player in the world.

Although a long, long way short of all-time Grand Slam singles winners Margaret Court (24) and Steffi Graf (22), Henin's collection of four French, one US and one Australian title leaves her just one behind Evonne Goolagong who is widely regarded as one of the game's true greats. To gain entry to the pantheon of the goddesses, however, Henin, now 25, will have to turn up at the gates bearing at least one Wimbledon title.

Described by John McEnroe as the "player who most reminds me of me" (a compliment to her flowing style rather than suggestion of any brattishness), Henin engaged cruise control in her 6-1, 6-3 third round defeat of Russian Elena Vesnina on Court No 2 where, if we ignore double faults, she surrendered just two points on serve in both sets.

Sterner examinations will undoubtedly follow but, no matter the quality of the opposition, like McEnroe Henin is a joy to watch, combining the elegance of a bygone age with the power of the third millennium. Court No 2 is popularly known as the 'Graveyard of Champions' but to Henin it was a stage on which to flaunt her entire repertoire of shots. Sumptuous ground-stroke winners - the classic Henin backhand remains as smooth and creamy as a Belgian chocolate truffle - crisp volleys, disguised lobs, here was a brand of tennis unknown to the gawky double-handed brigade.

When Vesnina attempted to stem the onslaught with a cute, angled drop-shot, she found herself finessed by an even cuter and acuter angled drop-shot reply. Even the Russian was moved to join the applause. Henin may be less than imposing at a shade under 5ft 6ins in height, but talent does not come any more towering than this although when asked if she had any other talents or party tricks she would like to reveal, Henin demurred: "I'm lucky I've been born with this talent. I would love to be able to sing well but no, no, no.

"That's my frustration. Cooking isn't that much of a talent either."

Despite a reputation for being something of a loner - her mother died when she was 12, she became estranged from her father and her marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne foundered at the start of the year - Henin proved she has a big heart when she founded her own charity, Justine's Winners' Circle, to provide joy and hope to children suffering from cancer.

So, having won the French, US and Australian championships, what would it mean to Henin to take possession of the most glittering prize of all? Has she pictured herself standing on the Centre Court as she did 12 months ago after losing to Amelie Mauresmo but, 12 months on, this time as the new Wimbledon champion? "No, not really. That would drain me of too much energy," she said.

"It would be an amazing achievement but dreaming of it is not going to help me."

But from Wilrijk to the Wimbledon winners' circle would be a dream come true, would it not? "It's too late for dreams. I'm in the fourth round and every match I must be at my best. I believe I can do it but it is not an obsession with me. I don't have anything to prove to anyone. [Winning Wimbledon] would be great, but if I do it's not going to make me any happier in my real life after tennis."

Oh, come on, Justine, wouldn't it be nice to put one over on your old mucker Kim Clijsters who retired without ever winning Wimbledon? "Okay, yes it would be great to win all four Grand Slams. I love Wimbledon, I love it here. It's a great atmosphere and you can feel something different in the air. But to be honest, Paris remains the place where my heart is beating pretty hard."

Just you wait Justine Henin, just you wait. Your heart could be bursting come next Saturday.

www.telegraph.co.uk/philip

I'm loving the broadsheets more and more :wub:

Henin briefly lifts gloom to turn into a little ray of sunshine

Simon Barnes, Chief Sports Writer

Justine Henin trails a cloud of unhappiness. Such is her nature. She has a face like one of those Northern Renaissance madonnas overcome with the sadness of life. Playing tennis is a serious business, but she does at least allow herself a smile when she wins. The transformation is startling and it came yesterday afternoon, and in full measure: she had just dispatched her third-round opponent, Elena Vesnina, of Russia, 6-1, 6-3.

Henin has had a sad life, so it’s just as well she is so good at winning tennis matches. Her mother died when she was 12, she became estranged from the rest of her family and had no contact with them for seven years. She married and, with a dreadful inevitability, it all went wrong and she was divorced in January. Now she is Miss Henin again, no longer Henin-Hardenne, and she is punctuating her sadness with bouts of tennis of miraculous quality.

She has had a rapprochement with her family, but even that was born of sadness. Her brother was involved in a near-fatal car accident and such things tend to clarify one’s priorities in life. The brother came out of a coma to find his long-lost sister at his bedside.

Henin has the air of a woman who expects sadness, but that is not to be confused with a sense of defeat. She doesn’t care for defeat. She is No 1 in the world and collected her sixth grand-slam title in Paris three weeks ago. As you would expect, though, her career has not been all sweetness and light.

She has had problems with knees, back, hamstrings. She is prone to illness – any virus seems to lay her out. Last year she quit on her stool, like Sonny Liston, in the final of the Australian Open. She was a set and 2-0 down to Amélie Mauresmo and had a poorly tum, but the tennis world was not overimpressed with the idea of walking out of a grand-slam final.

But she was quite splendid yesterday. She has made a conscious decision to play more aggressively at Wimbledon, feeling that she was too predictable against Mauresmo when she lost the final at Wimbledon last year. Well, why shouldn’t she? She moves beautifully and has a sublime touch anywhere she happens to be on the court. She volleyed like a good ’un yesterday and served at times in excess of 110mph.

How on earth does she do it? There’s not much of her. She looks in need of the famous all-day breakfast in the press canteen and a box or two of Belgian chocolates to follow. She is not quite as slight in person as she seems on television – a reversal of the usual rule – although still frail enough. But she gives the ball a hell of a whack. It’s all in the timing, the technique, the coordination.

Henin is built more like a marathon runner than a racket player, but she is a joy to watch on court. The classic one-handed backhand is as lovely a shot as you will see in the game and, as you would expect, she covers the court better than anyone. She is seeded No 1 here and is likely to meet Serena Williams in the quarter-finals, so don’t miss that one.

Henin is in superb form and will take a bit of shifting. Her game is a pure one, based on intelligence rather than power. She is a confirmed nongrunter, which is a bit of a relief. On court, she confines herself to an occasional muttered “ Allez!” She doesn’t do theatrics, but in a quiet way she likes to be the boss of the court.

Yesterday she made Vesnina feel like an intruder. The well-known perversities of No 2 Court affected her not at all. She carved up the Russian with neatness and precision and after that she permitted herself the day’s smiling ration. She said afterwards that she was enjoying herself out there, and we must take her word for that. Certainly, the way she was hitting the ball spoke of a real relish for the business.

Henin’s temperament is much like the Wimbledon weather this year: generally gloomy but with occasional, brilliant outbreaks of dazzling sun, the more glorious for being so unexpected. In her press conference, she was asked by some poor fellow with a lot of space to fill whether she had any talents outside tennis. And for some reason, she found this wonderfully amusing: “I sing so well! No . . . I would love to sing well.” And the sun came out and blessed us all in that windowless room.

But what about winning the whole damn thing, Justine? “That would be great, but that wouldn’t make me more happy for my real life after tennis.”

It just keeps getting better and better :wub: :wub: :D

Hard case Henin finds the touch of a poet

Justin Henin combined elegance with precision as she made rapid progress.

Richard WilliamsJune 30, 2007 12:27 AM

There were no red knickers or dying swans on Court Two yesterday. Ostentation is out of place in the third-ranked of Wimbledon's arenas, a cockpit built for close combat of the type that has humbled many great champions but which seemed to suit the world No1 Justine Henin as she gave short shrift to the challenge of Elena Vesnina, a 20-year-old from Russia, winning 6-1, 6-3 .

In the first round of the French Open a month ago Vesnina took seven games off Henin. There was to be no improvement yesterday, however, as Henin lost only four games to complete an easy week that also included victories over Jorgelino Cravero of Argentina (6-3, 6-0) and Vera Dushevina of Russia (6-0, 6-4). In her trio of first-week matches she compiled a total of two hours and eight minutes on court, conceding a mere 11 games, and came off after the defeat of Vesnina looking forward to a long weekend to be spent listening to Johnny Hallyday - a fellow Belgian, at least by paternity - and watching her DVDs of Rome, the blood-bolter'd series devoted to various forms of rape and pillage.

Words like "bluecollar" and "hardscrabble" seem to suit the No1 seed, who comes from the steel town of Liège. Until, that is, she starts to play, when she is transformed into a creature seemingly born in a royal palace and raised on a diet of champagne and truffles.

If Henin looked like Maria Sharapova, no other female tennis player would get a look-in when it came to endorsements. Yet how wonderfully nature sometimes balances its gifts, endowing a statuesque supermodel-type with the most basic forms of weaponry while bestowing upon a plain-faced little woman the instincts and touch of a poet. Add the perennially fascinating and unpredictable Williams sisters to the mix and you get a women's bill that currently outshines the men's.

Henin is hoping to complete the set of grand-slam trophies by adding her first Wimbledon title to her four victories at Roland Garros and her single successes in Australia and the United States. After her recent wins in Paris and at Eastbourne, where she defeated Ana Ivanovic and Amélie Mauresmo in the finals, she arrived in London feeling tired and was grateful for the comparatively easy passage to Monday's fourth round, where she will meet Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who is appearing in the tournament for the 12th time but has never before made it through to the second week.

Vesnina, who reached the second round on her Wimbledon debut last year, was born in Ukraine but now lives in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia's candidate for the 2014 Winter Olympics, where the local tennis academy also produced Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Ranked world No67, she has something of Sharapova's straight-backed carriage and completes her follow-through with a nice flourish but will need time to complete the transition from clay and hardcourts to the alien grass.

She dropped serve in the first game yesterday, her guard pierced by the first of the laser-guided forehand passes which are the most recent addition to Henin's armoury, but came back and fought well until the fifth game of the set, when optimism seemed to drain away as her service again fell victim to Henin's persistent aggression. The Russian's golden ponytail had started to droop long before the top seed wrapped up the set with another break.

There were signs of a revival from Vesnina early in the second set, a raking backhand down the line and an impressive serve-and-volley exercise helping her to hold serve. Under gathering clouds, however, she started to wilt again and was soon bowing her head in acknowledgement as another sizzling Belgian forehand thunked into the backcloth.

The weather intervened with Henin leading 3-2 in the second set, having uncharacteristically blown two break points in the fourth game. She was, she said later, trying to get it finished before the rain came, but pressed too hard. About an hour later, with the sun now burning down out of an azure sky, they returned to complete the formalities.

Having lost to Mauresmo in last year's final and defeated her a week ago, Henin was invited to give her opinion on the form of the defending champion, who had an appendectomy in March. "She's getting better," she said. "She had a pretty tough time with her surgery and everything. I'm sure it's not easy to come back from that. She's been in a bit of trouble, but that happens to a lot of players. It looks like on grass she's getting better now. She loves this tournament so much. Who knows what can happen? She's one of the players who could go to the end."

Henin, too, appreciates Wimbledon, although it will never replace Roland Garros in her affections. "I like to be here," she concluded. "I think it's a great atmosphere. We can feel something different. But Paris remains the place where my heart is beating pretty hard."

I just had to post this ... I found it on another tennis forum. It's from a Belgian newspaper

Difference between Serena and Justine when it's raining



roflmao roflmao

This is about the Serena match! :giggle: :bow: :bow:

I'M JUST SO SO SO SO PROUD OF HER, I REALLY AM! :wub: :wub: :wub:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtm...5/sthodg105.xml

Iron maiden proves ring-rusty

By Mark Hodgkinson

So Serena Williams' bloody-minded nature only got her so far. Her father had described her as showing "the fight of a young Mike Tyson". But Iron Mike in a white dress was last night floored in the quarter-finals on Centre Court by Justine Henin, who may be about half the size but was not exactly lacking when it came to determination and a will to win.

Never mind that Williams, as you would have expected of an aspiring actress, was more obviously and flamboyantly in fight-mode, with exaggerated clenches of the fists and great, stentorian roars of "C'mon". Henin went about her business in a much quieter fashion, with small cries of "Allez" on the way to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory which left many at the All England Club thinking that this will be the year when the Belgian wins a first Wimbledon title. Henin, the world No 1, was anything but lightweight against Williams, twice a former champion.

Of course, as well as the grit and gumption from Henin, the tennis off her strings was both intelligent and elegant, with her one-handed backhand a rare thing of beauty in the bash-crash-thrash of the modern women's game. And so it would be astonishing if Henin, into the last four for the fifth time and twice a beaten finalist, were to lose to Marion Bartoli, a first-time grand slam semi-finalist and a curvy Frenchwoman who is unlikely to be bringing out a fitness video anytime soon.

Stretching out the Fight Club drama, Williams claimed afterwards that she had thought about not playing, suggesting that she had been constrained by a calf problem and a damaged thumb, injuries she had sustained during Monday's fourth-round victory against Daniela Hantuchova. Her father Richard and a doctor both apparently advised her to withdraw.

"I wasn't 100 per cent fit. I was probably at 40 or 50 per cent, maximum," said Williams, who had heavy strapping on both her left calf and her left hand. "My leg was doing better. In the last match, I fell and sprained my thumb. So I can't really hit backhands. I was hitting one-handed backhands. I wasn't even sure whether I was going to go out and play. It was a last-minute decision whether to play. But I would have hated not to have tried. And I almost did win. Considering I had no backhand, I did pretty well. If I had been healthy, I would have won."

Michael Stich and John McEnroe had been among those who suggested that Williams had made the most of any physical difficulties against the Slovakian. Williams was not impressed by those remarks.

"I know the pain I was in. Michael Stich can say what he wants, my career is more stellar than his. I've always been a fighter," she bristled.

"It was a good fight," Henin said after defeating Williams in the quarter-finals for the second grand slam in succession, after also winning at Roland Garros. French Open champion Henin has had the measure of Williams at the majors this season. Henin missed the Australian Open to come to terms with the breakdown of her marriage, but if she had been in Melbourne, would have she have prevented that improbable comeback triumph by the Californian? You have to wonder.


Serena followed Venus's match on to Centre Court, hoping for a Williams sisters one-two. On the first point, the Iron Mike of women's tennis landed a body-shot on Henin; a ferociously-struck backhand smacking into her opponent at the net. There was barely even an apology from Williams, and Henin appeared to glare down the court at her opponent, which was brave, considering the difference in size and power between them. After that exchange to start with, it seemed as though it was going to be a match containing more violence than a Quentin Tarantino box-set.

But, it took a little while for the quarter-final to get going. It certainly did not help the players that the wind was gusting around the open-top Centre Court, so finding any rhythm and range on their strokes was not easy. But soon Henin was hitting off the honey-spot. The only break of the opening set was achieved with a glorious lob-volley by Henin, which arched over Williams in the service box.

But Williams is nothing if not a scrapper with a racket, and she came back in the second set. Henin, though, countered in the decider, and served it out at the second time of asking. On her second match point, Williams looped a backhand long. So Henin then wagged her index finger in the London skies, as if to say: "I'm the No 1, and don't you forget it."

^^ I love her when she's like this! I was killing myself laughing when I saw that :D :yahoo:

Very good picture, funny how you Belgians mock Serenas body shape, however you always get hampered by big gals.

But to be fair the pic is ripping the piss outta both players :lol:

Typical classless trash from a typical Belgian news paper. That country has no shame...

Seems like you and Belgium have a lot in common then :)

Is a bit trashy that cartoon though :shrug:

No baggage for Henin in T.O.

`They didn't know where my bags were,' says tennis star after airline loses luggage
Aug 11, 2007 04:30 AM
Kevin McGran
SPORTS REPORTER

The jet-set lifestyle of international tennis stars – first-class flights, four-star hotels – is not exactly all glitz and glamour, even for the world's No.1 ranked player.

Just ask Justine Henin, who arrived in Toronto while her luggage went elsewhere.

Continental Airline officials were left red-faced yesterday as they struggled to find answers to the whereabouts of her clothes and rackets and other gear – everything she needs to play this week at the Rogers Cup.

"It's been crazy. I had trouble with immigration in New York, then to come to Toronto and no luggage," said Henin, whose journey started in Brussels Thursday morning. "With jet-lag and everything, I was pretty tired.

"Then I spent the whole day (yesterday) in my room waiting. I didn't have any clothes, nothing. Just waiting for my bags. Every hour I was calling, they didn't know where my bags were."

Meanwhile much needed practice time went by the wayside yesterday, as her 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. warmups passed with still no sign of her equipment. Finally, after 24 hours, her stuff arrived at her hotel last evening and she took to the court at the National Tennis Centre at York University for a practice session at 6 p.m.

This tournament is one of the final warmups for the U.S. Open, the last grand slam of the season. Henin, the French Open champion from Belgium, is hoping for a good showing here after her embarrassing first-round elimination at Wimbledon. And she's pleased to have regained her No.1 status.

"That's the goal, to go into the end of the season as the No.1 seed in every tournament," said Henin. "It's a nice feeling. But it doesn't mean I have no doubts. I'm like every other player with worries going into every tournament."

And she's just like every other traveller, who worries about whether their luggage made it on to the plane.

"That's for sure," she said.

http://www.thestar.com/article/245365

Justine has a new boyfriend :wub: :wub:

He's the one on the left and he's just :wub: :wub:
.
http://www.dhnet.be/pictures_news/art_46161.jpg

It's a friend of her brother Thomas. He came along to the WIMBLEDON QF with her brother.

The guys name is Gregory Philippin (age 30) and he's associated with one of those sports associations in Belgium, and he plays tennis too. He has a masters degree in political sciences, and another one in managment. He has a degree in "international relations and european integration" and apparently he studied (highschool) in The States (Ottawa High School (Kansas) ) :yikes:

http://www.dhnet.be/sports/tennis/article/...ve-l-amour.html





I hope all this "new found happiness" doesn't affect her tennis! Stay grounded Justine, stay grounded please! :pray: :pray: I'm really happy for her though, I'm so glad everything is finally falling into place ...... her family, her love life ..... :wub: :wub:

From: Associated Content (The People's Media Company)

Justine Henin: Most Underrated Female Athlete in the World, Much Less Tennis

By: Lee Andrew Henderson
Published online on July 23, 2007

I was thinking of topics to write about two weeks ago during Wimbledon and meant to write this article way back then. I put it off but then had to revisit the topic while watching the ESPYs on ESPN.

I know the ESPYs don't amount to much, they aren't highly respected awards or anything like the Oscars or the Emmys. The fans also vote on the ESPYs so it's largely a popularity contest. When it was announced that Maria Sharapova won for best female tennis player it was not a shock at all (although my money would've been on one of the Williams sisters), but I thought to myself that people really need to be educated on the sport of tennis.

No offense to Maria Sharapova. I actually like Maria Sharapova, which I think most people who actually follow tennis don't like that her much because of her attitude. I'm assuming most of the people who voted for Maria Sharapova are the people who don't really follow tennis and think she is hot. I do like Maria Sharapova though, she is a very good tennis player but she is not the number one female in tennis, neither is Serena Williams, neither is Venus Williams. Justine Henin is the top female in tennis and probably the most underrated female athlete in the world.

It's easy to see that Justine Henin is the top female in tennis because unlike a lot of sports, tennis has a ranking system. The WTA Rankings take into consideration the last twelve months of play. Justine Henin is currently first in the WTA rankings; 779 points ahead of second place Maria Sharapova, 2077 points ahead of Serena Williams and 2802 points ahead of Venus Williams. The Sony Ericsson Tour takes into consideration only what a player has done this year. Justine Henin is also first in the Sony Ericsson point race; 255 points ahead of second place Jelena Jankovic, 1104 points ahead of Serena Williams, 1460 points ahead of Maria Sharapova and 1615 points ahead of Venus Williams.

Players like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova probably make a ton of money in endorsements but when it comes to just playing tennis Justine Henin also makes the most prize money in singles competition. So far this year Justine Henin has made 2.5 mil in prize money. Serena Williams has made 1.7 mil, Venus Williams has made 1.4 mil and Maria Sharapova has made 1 mil.

Everybody goes on and on about how great Roger Federer is, and he definitely is, but I don't see why people don't talk about Justine Henin more. Would you believe that Justine Henin went to as many Grand Slam Finals last year as Roger Federer? Well she did. She didn't win three out of four Grand Slams like Roger Federer did but she did reach the finals in all four Grand Slams. That's pretty impressive. No, Justine Henin hasn't won Wimbledon five years in a row like Roger Federer but she has won three French Opens in a row, that isn't something to sneeze at. In fact, Rafael Nadal just won his third French Open in a row this year and everybody made a big deal out of it, but there wasn't anybody talking about Justine Henin.

Some people, especially ESPN broadcasters, might argue that while Justine Henin has had the better consistent year, Serena Williams is the better tennis player right now. Unfortunately for them, Serena Williams just lost her most recent matchup against Justine Henin at Wimbledon. Justine Henin is the top player in women's tennis right now, it's a fact.

Think about every women's sport and the best player in their sport and you'll see that Justine Henin is talked about the least. Everybody talks about Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird and Diani Taurasi in the WNBA and Candace Parker in College Basketball. Danica Patrick gets a lot of attention and last time I checked she hasn't even won a race. Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam are talked about all the time in women's golf. Even some of the women's softball players like Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott are getting some love from ESPN. Amanda Beard gets attention for taking her clothes off and every four years even the women gymnasts, track stars and volleyball players get attention. Meanwhile, Justine Henin quietly continues to be the most underrated female athlete in all of sports.

The link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/3...ted_female.html

Justine's First interview since Wimbledon


In Nendoz (on 150 kilometres of Genève) in the Swiss Alps. the children of Henins spent a few days with kids from her 20 Hearts Foundation. "Time stands still here. It's so quiet, and soothing. I can forget that I am the #1 player in the world here. Those Children give me more than I can ever give them. I want to bring my friends and family members in the future to these activities because what happens here is this so important", tells Henin. It is wonderful when a child gives you a gift. They even sang for me. I had tears in my eyes. I would gladly spend more time with those children. But it's more important that we can help them."

Henin had been possibly running on empty after the loss at the semi-final in Wimbledon. "I look only ahead. I had a holiday and have analysed that defeat (Wimbledon). The declaration from me? I no longer think about that loss. You must be able accept that once in a while you cannot make it to the end and win. And one thing is certain: I can feel disasspointed afterwards", said Justine.

About the forfeit of San Diego she had this to say. "My injury (San Diego) is gone, it's in the past. Everything is now in order. I hope to play in strongly in Toronto from the start, peak to my optimum for the US OPEN. I want to remain at the top (rankings) for the second half of the season. I'm already proud of my past 6 months," asserted Henin.

Toronto is her next tournament and preparations begin.
"It's tough to say farewell, and leave, but this is my life. It's not always easy, but this is what I do. Departing is always a disadvantage, but the advantages are so much. It exceeds, I gain so much from tennis"

"I have enough time for myself, but not always alot of personal time. My career - my tennis, my foundation.... Often times, I run behind schedule to be on time. It's not always easy."

Ehhhh???

Totally agree B)

Could not have said this any better :bow: