Say goodbye to another one of the greats: Justine Henin has announced her re-retirement via her official website and Facebook page. After spending most of 2008 and the entire 2009 season out of the game, Henin returned to professional play, only to suffer a serious elbow injury at Wimbledon last summer. She missed the U.S. Open as a result, and after receiving medical attention following her third-loss here in Melbourne to Svetlana Kuznetsova, she seems to have little choice but to hang up her racquet for good:
Justine Henin Retires From Tennis After Australian Open Loss, Citing Elbow Injury
I spent the last days undergoing various medical tests and they have confirmed that my elbow has been damaged by my adventure in Australia.
After my crash at Wimbledon in June, I knew it would be difficult to come back. But I had decided to keep playing and to give everything to overcome the injury. In these recent months I have rarely been spared from the pain, those last months were very hard. Time has passed, and the doubts have grown, and only return to the courts would give me answers. Not the answer I was hoping for... unfortunately. I suffered a lot the last week and every day gave me more and more pain, but I believed that my will would take the upper hand. Today, the examinations are clearly and and the doctors formally, my elbow is too fragile and hurt so that my passion and my profession at high level.
Henin, a former world No. 1 who’s currently ranked 13th in singles play, has seven Grand Slam event wins to her name since turning pro in 1999, including the Aussie Open in 2004. She was runner-up to Serena Williams in last year’s Australian Open.
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