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Can Justine Henin Serve Up the Competition?
by Nadya Vlassoff
Belgian tennis superstar, Justine Henin, has finally
returned to the tour and not a moment too soon.
In her recent U.S. Open news conference, Henin
announced that her serve would be her first priority
as Justine prepares to return to the WTA in 2010
with long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez also with
plans to enter the first grand slam tournament
of the year, the Australian Open. Working to her
advantage as tennis fans look ahead, Justine Henin
is a former champion in Melbourne where she beat
her compatriot Kim Clijsters in a three set victory.
Henin’s return to the tour is a much needed boost for the WTA which has taken a beating after many of its top players failed to live up to their ranking. Most notably, 2009 was the year that current world #1 Dinara Safina kept her top ranking but failed to win a grand slam title although Safina made it to the Australian Open final where Serena Williams flat-lined her in a lop-sided victory and also lost a heart-breaker to Svetlana Kuznetsova at the French Open. Serena and Dinara went on to exchange jabs through the press about the validity of the WTA ranking system. However, Safina has consistently performed well in premiere tournaments despite failing to continue that success in the grand slams where Safina is yet to win her maiden slam. Serena Williams, on the other hand, has two slam titles for 2009 and eleven in total along with ten grand slam doubles titles.
With the resurgent return of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin admitted that her compatriot’s successful run at the U.S. Open after Clijsters’ decision to come out of early retirement was a source of inspiration. Indeed, one of the most intriguing rivalries in the women’s game over the last decade was square off between Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Henin amassed an enormous amount of success mainly due to the fact that she played highly skilled players like Venus and Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and a healthy Maria Sharapova on a regular basis. Two years ago, the top ten players on the WTA tour were former champions on different surfaces who had the potential to go far in every tournament. It was a far cry from the current state of the WTA tour.
After her championship run at the U.S. Open only a few weeks ago, Kim Clijsters has returned to the top twenty and will likely move into the top ten by the time the Australian Open comes around in January. Justine Henin will play several warm-up tournaments in January to prepare for her return to the grand slam stage and the Australian Open organizers could not be happier. To have two of the most talented players back on tour is a great coup for the WTA and could be the saving grace that the new WTA Chairman and CEO, Stacey Allaster, needs to bring good publicity back to the tour.
 Why
is Justine Henin’s return so important to the
tour? The biggest reason is her competitive
nature. Henin was one of the smallest players
on tour at 5’ 6" but more than made up for her
stature with beautiful strokes, and one of the
most impressive all-around games to have ever
graced the WTA. So often players are either
great offensive players or dominant defenders.
Justine Henin is the rare combination of both.
Justine is the proud owner of the most beautiful
one-handed backhand strokes on the tour and
has used it to her fullest potential. Unlike
Agnes Svazay who had the potential to become
a powerful back-handed baseliner, Justine Henin
could successfully drop shot her opponents from
the baseline and also hit spinless backhands,
something that is incredibly hard to do especially
when a player has to defend a powerful serve.
Also, Justine Henin had a strong dictating forehand
and a solid service game that was equal, if
not better than even players who towered over
her.
Justine Henin will enter the 2010 Australian Open as an unseeded player and all eyes will be on the former #1 champion. Surely, if the rest of the women’s top twenty continue to play as poorly as they have thus far except for a few notables, Henin will have little trouble as she makes her way into week two in Melbourne. However, Justine Henin does have a losing record against Serena and Venus Williams although the Venus of two years ago is not the Venus Williams of today. Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters continue to be the big competition. If Maria Sharapova can reign in her still erratic service game then Sharapova could be another potential obstacle in Melbourne. Justine Henin’s new serve, however, will be the one to watch and Sharapova should take notes.
The return of Justine Henin is much more than a promotional field day for the tennis media. Henin has the potential to bring credibility back to the WTA, which has largely been overshadowed this year by controversy and squabbles between players. Although Henin was criticized for her post-match comments about some of her opponents, it wasn’t an important part of her career that saw Henin amass forty-one singles titles in less than a decade as a professional tennis player. That amounts to seven more than Serena Williams. But what makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that Serena has been on tour for fourteen years to Justine Henin’s nine.
 Although
it’s likely that Justine Henin won’t be able
to replicate her success, there’s more to her
departure and return than meets the on-court
eye. Justine Henin left the tour not due to
a sinking ranking or injury but simply because
Henin had had enough of the tour and the sport
that she had dedicated twenty years of her life.
Justine Henin retired as the #1 player in the
world and was the three-time defending French
Open and U.S. Open champion. Now, sixteen months
later, Justine Henin is back and ready to pick
up right where she left off.
Wimbledon is the only grand slam title to have eluded Justine Henin thus far. However, with an improved serve, Henin just may be able to complete the slam that would cap off her near-perfect career. Justine Henin has stated that she intends to play competitively until the 2012 Olympics, which leaves her three more chances to capture the grass-court championship. At only 27, Justine Henin still has plenty of time to continue her success and we’re only too happy to watch her as she returns to the top of the tennis world.
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