Wimbledon Tennis Profile:Justine Henin-Hardenne
Henin-Hardenne, 24, entered Wimbledon on a roll by winning the Hastings Direct tournament in Eastbourne, England. She downed Kim Clijsters in the semifinals and Anastasia Myskina in the finals.
Henin-Hardenne turned pro in 1999 and rose to become the top-ranked player in the world on Oct. 20, 2003.
Currently, she is ranked No. 3 in the world. She entered Wimbledon with a 38-5 record in 2006.
Henin-Hardenne has captured 30 singles titles in her career. She has won $11 million in prize money in her career, including $2 million in the first half of 2006.
Justine’s breakout year was 2003, when rose to the No. 1 ranking in the world. She won the French and U.S. Open titles that year, her first two Grand Slam championships.
She opened 2004 by winning the Australian Open, capturing three of the previous four Grand Slam titles. She also won her second and third French Open titles in 2005 and 2006.
Despite the recent emphasis on power in the women’s game, Justine has managed to excel with a flawless baseline style. Her backhand is her greatest strength.
Her challenge, at 5-foot-6 and 126 pounds, is to compete with more powerful players like Venus Williams, Lindsey Davenport and Maria Sharapova.
HENIN-HARDENNE HISTORY
Justine made her international amateur debut in 1996. She started to excel in 1998, winning three singles championships on the ITF tour. She earned her first ranking at No. 226 in the world.
She turned pro at the beginning of 1999 and became the fifth player to win her debut event. She also helped Belgium reach the semifinals of the Federation Cup.
In 2000, Justine upset Anna Kournikova at the U.S. Open and rose into the Top 50 rankings. By the end of 2001, she had moved up to No. 7 with three singles titles. That year, she reached the finals of Wimbledon, losing in three sets to Venus Williams.
Justine started to establish herself as a top-tier player in 2002, and it was no longer a huge surprise when she would score victories over Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles and Serena Williams. Still, her first Grand Slam title eluded her.
In 2003, Justine finally reached the top. She beat Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters to win the French Open. She played an epic semifinal against Capriati in the U.S. Open, mounting several comebacks to earn a three-set victory. Less than 24 hours later, Justine beat Clijsters in the finals. On Oct. 20 in Zurich, Henin-Hardenne won her eighth tournament of the year, ascending to the top ranking of her sport.
Her hot streak continued early in 2004, as she won the Australian Open over Amelie Mauresmo. However, things went downhill as illnesses knocked her out of several tournaments – respiratory problems in Antwerp and hypoglycemia in Charleston. Her biggest problem was a bout with cytomegalovirus, which knocked her out of several other tournaments. Her ranking dropped to No. 4 after 45 weeks in the top spot.
After a layoff of several months, she won the gold medal for Belgium at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, defeating Mauresmo in the finals.
Justine continued her strong comeback in 2005, storming through the clay-court season with victories at Charleston, Berlin and Warsaw. She capped her winning streak by recapturing the French Open championship with a win over Mary Pierce in the finals.
In 2006, she won a tournament in Sydney before bowing out of the Australian Open finals against Mauresmo with a gastrointestinal illness.
Justine’s success at Roland Garros continued with her third French Open championship. She downed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the finals.
Having ascended to the No. 3 spot in the world ranking, Justine Henin-Hardenne entered Wimbledon looking for the only Grand Slam title that has eluded her.
Henin-Hardenne has had the same coach, Carlos Rodriguez, since she was 14 years old. She has been married to Pierre-Yves Hardenne since 2002.
