Justine Henin

Justine Henin embraced tennis at an early age as her family lived close to a club in Belgium.

In her youth, her mother regularly took her across the border to go watch Roland-Garros, a tournament that would go on to be very important in her career. It was there, in 1997, that she won the junior girls singles title. After turning pro in May 1999 aged 16, she won the Belgian Open, becoming only the fifth player to win on her WTA debut.

By 2001, Henin had established herself as a player to be reckoned with. She broke through two years later, showcasing her mastery on clay to win the first of four Roland-Garros singles titles, and later that season lifted the US Open trophy. Weeks later she topped the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings and finished as year-end No. 1, a feat she would go on to repeat in 2006 and 2007. In 2004, Henin added an Australian Open title and took Olympic gold. She won three consecutive Roland-Garros titles from 2005, and in 2007 added a second US Open crown. The following year, while still ranked World No. 1, Henin retired to great surprise. She made a successful comeback in 2010, reaching the Australian Open final and winning in Stuttgart and ’s-Hertogenbosch, before retiring permanently in 2011.