Why Justine Henin's retirement is bad news for tennis

Goodbye women's tennis. You have just lost the best tennis player from this decade.

That's great. Elena from Russia will win the French Open this year!

Wow, what a big suprise Justine Henin has decided to throw in the towel and retire.I must be honest and say I won't miss her much. Admittedly Women's tennis will miss a great champion that is true. I can only think the other women players will breath a huge sigh of relief at the announcment. Now the pressure will be put on Maria Sharapova, who I am sure will rise to the occasion with relish and determination. What a bonus would be if in 2008 we got three different Grand Slam winners this year as well as woman Olympian and Masters winner. I can't wait to see what happens and unfolds. Women's tennis is about to get alot more exciting

Justine will truly be missed from tennis. In my opinion she was the most consistent top player on tour. I think Serena will win FO this year but I think she was going to win it even if Justine did not retire. I think Serena is on top of her game again. Sharapova will rise to the occasion as well but she cannot beat Serena on any surface. So, in saying this I think that Serena is the #1 player in the game and Sharapova is #2. I was not a fan of Justine but I do not have to be a fan to enjoy the excitement she brought to the game. She will truly be missed!

I agree to a large extent with Deisha. Had Henin not retired, she most certainly will not have made much of an impression this year. This yr is however looking positive for serena and for the life of me, I can never understand why people don't give her enough credit. (She is such a great champion) But then again, if she were waiting for people to 'encourage' or 'ulogize' her, she wouldn't have reached this far. She has something inside her that makes her tower above all the 'legless critics' to prove that she will always be a force to reckon with. Henin saw that this year was going to be a bad year for her, so to avoid disgrace, she decided to quit while she can still hold her head high. Shame on her..She is a sore loser. I definitely will not miss her, and the WTA tour still has enough talented girls to create excitement for tennis lovers. Finally, people keep making so much noise about Henin's backhand. Was her hand in P.O.P. when she was hammered first 64 60 by sharapova and then humiliated 62 60 by serena? I think people should stop being emotional. Yes, she did well last year out of (a total of 9 yrs) on the tour, so to use only last year's performance to draw such DRAMATIC & HIGH FALUTIN conclusions such as 'best of her generation', 'irreplaceable' , etc. is just pathetic and misplaced. Others have better overall records than her but are not even getting any mention. it's an 'animal farm' society we live in indeed...what a shame

I so not agree with naa and Deisha. she was the best of her generation, no doubt about it. it's not like last season was her only succes, she won the olympics, in 2005 she went unbeaten on clay, and she won three consecutive French Opens, I would like to see Serena or Sharapova do that at any tournament...

p c, u make me laugh. Winning all four grand slams in a single year, and winning the french open 3 consecutive times...which of the above is a more noteworthy achievement? Without a doubt, winning all four grand slams in a year beats winning the french open three consecutive times. Serena has that record. If Henin comes out of retirement and is able to achieve that feat, then we can start talking. Get real

pc, I do not have to say a lot more because you summed it up perfectly. Might we add that Serena will win FO this year and will have won each slam at least twice and AO 3xs. Justine knew that Serena was back in form and she was right that she could no longer endure winning. Justine is a very good tennis player but Serena reigns!

Naa, you are a tennis expert! I agree with all of your comments. Its okay that some will disagree with us about Serena being the best female tennis player but I do not care because statistics speak for itself.

Naa, actually Serena didn't win all Grand Slams in the same year. And stop bashing Justine. Just because you like Serena doesn't mean you have to put other players down to bring her up. Just goes to show your lack of confidence in Serena's achievements if you need to bring other players down to make her shine. And FYI, Justine's records and what tennis experts say about her speak for themselves. Justine deserves all the recognition she gets. She truly was great for the sport, a great inspiration, and a great player.