Legend Bio: Justine Henin

Armed with a peerless one-handed backhand, Justine Henin's reign as World No.1 lasted a total of 117 weeks, a figure that reflects a remarkable career grounded in a fierce competitive fire.

The slightly-built Belgian reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2001, where she pushed Venus Williams to three sets. Two years later, she was ready to dominate on the sport's biggest stages, and in the ensuing five year period she registered a remarkable 7-3 record in major finals, against Hall of Fame competition.

It all began at Roland Garros in 2003, with a historic first all-Belgian final against Kim Clijsters. Henin came out of top, and dedicated the victory to her late mother, Françoise, who passed away when she was 12. She proceeded to rule the Parisian clay, securing four French Open crowns in total, including three years in a row from 2005 to 2007. 

Henin also captured her first US Open title in 2003, and sole Australian Open title in 2004, both at the expense of Clijsters. A second US Open title followed in 2007, when she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova to become one of just 10 women in the Open Era to claim seven or more singles Slams. 

Beyond the majors, Henin was just as impressive, as she went about building a 43-18 record in title bouts. In 2001, she joined forces with Clijsters to secure Belgium's first Billie Jean King Cup title. She won the Olympic Gold medal at Athens in 2004, defeating Amélie Mauresmo in the final, and won the WTA Finals twice, in 2006 and 2007. She won 10 tournaments at the WTA 1000-equivalent level, including four in Dubai. Her mastery was particularly evident on clay, where she won 18 of her 25 career finals, including three times at Berlin.

Coming after a 2007 season that was arguably her peak – she compiled a 63-4 record, won 10 titles, and became the first woman to surpass $5 million in single-season prize money – Henin's abrupt retirement in May 2008 shocked the tennis world. She was the first player in WTA history to step away from the sport while ranked No.1; in 2022, Ashleigh Barty made the same decision.

After a 20-month absence, Henin launched a successful comeback in 2010, advancing to the Australian Open final against Serena Williams and winning titles at Stuttgart and 's-Hertogenbosch. However, a persistent elbow injury led to her final retirement in January 2011.

Coached by Carlos Rodríguez throughout her career, Henin’s technical brilliance, built around her iconic backhand and all-court intelligence, earned her WTA Player of the Year honours in 2003 and 2007. All up she posted 525 match wins against 115 losses, a .820 winning percentage that underscores her place among the sport's most formidable champions. Her legacy was cemented with induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2016.

Henin's daughter, Lalie, was born in 2013, followed by a son, Victor in 2017; she married the father of her children, Benoit Bertuzzo in 2015. She remains actively involved in the Justine Henin Academy in Belgium and is a key presenter of French language coverage of Roland Garros.