Henin retires from tennis immediately

LIMELETTE—Justine Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No. 1.
The 25-year-old Belgian made the surprising announcement at a news conference Wednesday, less than two weeks before the start of the French Open. She has won that clay-court major championship four times, including each of the past three years.
“This is the end of a child’s dream,” Henin said. “This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious.” Her announcement came a day after one of the greatest female golfers in history said she’s walking away: Annika Sorenstam, owner of 10 major titles and one of six women to complete a career Grand Slam in her sport, is retiring at the end of the season.
Henin, though, won’t have any sort of farewell tour. She is quitting immediately. Henin won 10 tournaments last year, but has been in one of the worst slumps of her career this season. She lost last week in the third round of the German Open and pulled out of this week’s Italian Open, citing fatigue.