Henin-Hardenne, Justine

▪ 2005

      At the 2004 Australian Open, Belgian tennis player Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated her countrywoman Kim Clijsters to win her third Grand Slam title in the span of four major events. With the victory Henin-Hardenne, who had also captured the 2003 French and U.S. Open titles, stood in a rare class as one of only nine women to have held three Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. Although relatively small (1.6 m [5 ft 5 in] tall) for an athlete, the gutsy Belgian applied tenacity and a majestic backhand to establish herself as one of the finest woman tennis players in the world.

      In April 2004, however, Henin-Hardenne was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus, a viral condition that causes extreme fatigue. It kept her out of the game for six weeks leading up to the French Open, and she lost in the second round at Roland Garros, becoming the first top-seeded woman at the tournament to lose before the third round. She did not compete again until 10 weeks later in August at the Olympic Games in Athens. Remarkably, she rescued herself from 1–5 down in the final set of her semifinal against French Open victor Anastasiya Myskina of Russia and then took the gold medal over Amélie Mauresmo of France. Henin-Hardenne seemed like herself again but not for long. At the U.S. Open two weeks later, she was ousted in the fourth round by Russian Nadya Petrova—the first time since 1980 that a number one seed had been beaten before the semifinals in that tournament. Soon after, the Belgian champion announced that she would not compete for the remainder of the year.

      Born Justine Henin on June 1, 1982, in Liège, she set high standards as a junior competitor, taking the Junior Orange Bowl international tennis championship crown in Miami, Fla., in 1996 and winning the French Open junior championships the following year. She turned professional on Jan. 1, 1999, at age 16 and finished 2000 among the top 50 players in the world. She concluded 2001 at number seven and 2002 at number five. During the 2003 season, Henin-Hardenne, who had married Pierre-Yves Hardenne the previous year, captured two major championships, ousting Clijsters in the finals of both the French and U.S. Opens; her victory at Roland Garros marked her first Grand Slam title. Moreover, she was victorious in 75 of 86 matches, winning 8 tournaments altogether and reaching the semifinals or better in 16 of the 20 events she entered. Her supreme consistency and determination enabled Henin-Hardenne to finish the year as the top-ranked player in the women's game. She seemed certain to resume her winning ways in 2005, as long as her health allowed her to perform prodigiously again.

Steve Flink

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