When Justine Henin retired in May this year to the astonishment of the tennis world, the women’s game was more popular than it had ever been. There were still a few muffled questions surrounding prize money parity with men but no one questioned the mega-wattage of star quality it offered.

In the three prior seasons there were so many great stories – inspiring comebacks by Hingis, Clijsters, Pierce, Henin and the Williams sisters, the Eastern European glamour brigade, Henin’s rivalries with Clijsters, Mauresmo and the Williamses, designer gear floating around the courts and, of course, the highest-earning female athlete in the world.

There was enough happening both on and off the court to keep women’s tennis as much in the news as its male counterpart, competing with the kind of brilliance Federer and Nadal were producing.

But just look at how things have turned around in the subsequent four months. In the period that Nadal and Federer have taken their game to the realm of the mythical, among women there was no clear top player, not a single tennis match worth calling great (please do not come up with the Wimbledon final example because Safina’s two wins at the French had higher drama) and, saddest of all, the voices questioning women getting equal prize money have gotten louder.

One wonders how much of it has to do with Henin’s retirement, or was that just the last of a series of adversities? One of the numerous articles that were written on the Belgian’s retirement stated that WTA chief Larry Scott would not have spent sleepless nights over her calling it a day. After all, she was not the hottest player out there. Hell, despite being No.1 for much of this decade she was not even particularly well-liked.

Yet, here we are. It just goes to show that in tennis, no matter how much attention the peripheral glitter might grab, the ultimate story is still what takes place with two racquets on a court.

With such stars as Hingis and Clijsters already retired, women’s tennis needed some drama to come out of the Grand Slams. Instead we have had uncertainty and grimace inducing chokes and missed opportunities. Men’s tennis was in a similar state in 1999 for a couple of years when a handful of players got their few weeks at No.1 before Agassi and Federer brought it out of the doldrums.

Among the women hardly anyone comes in sight at the moment holding the promise of such inspiration or brilliance. As great as Venus and Serena are, they can hardly be depended upon to perform week in, week out. They might even be getting too old for such expectations.

It is safe to say that with Henin has gone one of the safest bets of these past few years. She is the only player in this decade to have won at least one Slam every year for five years running. That does not come close to Evert or Graf, I know, but it was the best on offer.

So no matter how beautiful Jankovic, Ivanovic, Sharapova, Hantuchova et al may try to look - something Henin never gave two pence for - they will have to bring their goods to the tennis court to save their sport.

There has never been more money in any female sport ever, but that is the result of decades of greatness – King, Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Seles, Hingis, Davenport, Venus, Serena and Henin. Two of those greats are still around and they are doing their best to hold on to the legacy. It is high time they got some support.