Justine Henin

Justine Henin , (born June 1, 1982 in Liège) Was a retired professional Belgian tennis player. On 14 May 2008, Henin announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis. She was 25 years old and ranked World No. 1 at the time of her retirement, now came back from retirement,continuing her tennis carrier.
Henin won 41 WTA singles titles and more than US$19 million in prize money. Seven of those titles were Grand Slam singles titles, including four French Open titles (four of the last five and the last three, consecutively), one Australian Open title, and two U.S. Open titles. She also won the WTA Tour Championships twice and the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Tennis experts cite her mental toughness, the completeness and variety of her game, her footspeed and footwork, and her one-handed backhand (which John McEnroe has described as the best single-handed backhand in the women's or men's game as the principal reasons for her success.
Playing style
Henin's playing style is well admired in tennis: John McEnroe once described Henin's tennis as "Federertennis," frequently describing Henin as "the Roger Federer of women's tennis." At the 2007 French Open, Martina Navratilova said that "Henin's offense is just phenomenal ... it's sort of like we've got 'the female Federer,' or maybe the guys have 'the male Justine Henin,' because she is just head and shoulders above everyone else right now."
Henin's single-handed backhand, which was by this time rare in both men's and women's tennis, was one of the most powerful and accurate in the game (Justine Henin frequently recorded higher speeds off her single-handed backhand than many of leading players' double-handed backhand speeds. Justine Henin could hit both 'flat', topspin and slice variation off this wing and could strike winners from any part of the court. Her backhand could also be disguised, surprising her opponents with dropshots. Her slice backhand was one of the best in the world. However, Henin's forehand was generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon, and the stroke that she normally used to dictate the play of a match. At her peak, Justine Henin consistently recorded the most 'winner heavy' stats of all the top 20 ranked players, the majority of her winners typically being forehand groundstroke winners. In each of her last three matches at the US Open in 2007, Henin hit substantially more winners than each of her opponents: quarterfinal versus Serena Williams, 30 - 17; semifinal versus Venus Williams 29 - 26; final versus Svetlana Kuznetsova, 25 - 11.
Despite her relatively small size, Justine Henin had an extremely powerful serve, which has been measured at a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) [2005 Charleston]. Her average first serve speed in the 2007 US Open semifinal [first set] was 172 km/h (107 mph) - the same as her opponent, Venus Williams (18 cm (seven inches) taller), who holds the world record for the fastest serve in a main draw Tour (or Grand Slam) event. Henin's serve frequently featured in the top 10 of the 'Women's Serve Speed Leaders' list, produced at every Grand Slam event throughout the year.
Henin's footwork, balance, and court coverage were exceptional - most notably on clay - and she was adept at changing from a defensive style to an aggressive one. Justine Henin always had good to exceptional volleying skills, and used serve-and-volley play with more frequency towards the end of her career.