The extraordinary story of Justine Henin: Illness, divorce and seven Grand Slams

Justine Henin is a Belgian legend. Together with Kim Clijsters, the Liège native put Belgium on the tennis map, winning countless tournaments. This is the extraordinary story of Justine 'Juju' Henin.

Henin was born in Liège on 1 June 1982 to José Henin and Françoise Rosière.

She started playing tennis at the age of five and appeared to have a lot of talent. In 1994, she crowned herself Belgian cadet champion.

At 12, she suffered a major blow when her mother passed away. She severed ties with her father in 1999, but would reconnect later in life.

In 1995, she came into contact with Carlos Rodríguez, who would assist her in her career as a coach.

Henin enjoyed several successes as a teenager. In 1997, she excelled at the Junior Orange Bowl and the French Open for juniors, winning both tournaments.

Henin turned pro in 1999 and did not miss her debut. At her first WTA tournament, in Antwerp, she immediately clinched the trophy.

Henin then won the tournaments in Australia's Gold Coast and Canberra in 2000, but it was in 2001 that she really impressed.

The Belgian went a long way at both the French Open and Wimbledon that year. In Paris, she reached the semi-finals, in which Kim Clijsters was too strong.

On the hallowed turf of Wimbledon, she reached the final, which she lost to Venus Williams.

That same year, she also excelled with Belgium in the Fed Cup, winning the coveted country trophy alongside Kim Clijsters, Laurence Courtois and Els Callens.

Henin was now among the world's top players and had entered the top 10. She finished the year world No. 7, and in 2002 she climbed to No. 5.

In 2003, Henin took a big step in her career. She reached at least the semi-finals at all Grand Slams and won the French Open and the US Open. This made her the first Belgian to ever win a Grand Slam.

These successes of 2003 earned her a nice reward: the world No. 1 ranking.

In 2004, Henin straight away filled a gap in her record by winning the Australian Open, but a setback soon followed.

Henin was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus. After a lesser performance at the French Open, she decided to take a breather.

Henin then headed for the Athens Olympics with recharged batteries, a tournament that is still etched in Belgium's collective sports memory.

After a clash in the semi-finals against Anastasia Myskina, Henin faced Amélie Mauresmo in the final. The French star was no match for the Belgian, who took the gold in 6-3, 6-3 and made history.

The next absolute highlight of Henin's career followed in 2005, when she took her second French Open title. She would go on to prevail in Paris in 2006 and 2007 as well, establishing herself as the undisputed clay queen of her generation.

In early 2007, Henin suffered a personal setback. She announced she was to divorce her husband Pierre Yves Hardenne, to whom she had been married since 16 November 2002.

On the sporting front, Henin triumphed once more at the US Open in 2007, which was the last Grand Slam tournament she managed to win in her career. Henin thereby won an impressive total of seven Grand Slam.

The following year, she surprised the tennis world by announcing her retirement. She then went on to focus on other things, including a tennis academy and some television appearances.

However, Henin quickly started to feel the itch to take up the tennis racket again. A comeback was not long in coming, and on 22 September 2009, she announced her return to the sport.

She straight away reached the final at the Australian Open, but did not find her level of yesteryear after that. After the 2011 Australian Open, Henin had had enough and called it a day.

Henin then started focusing on starting a family. She had a daughter with director Benoît Bertuzzo, whom she married in 2014, and later a son.

Henin received numerous distinctions during and after her career. For instance, she was named Belgian Sportswoman of the Year several times and in 2023 she received the ITF Philippe Chatrier Award, the highest honour anyone can receive in tennis.

Today, after her successful career, Henin is mainly occupied with her family and her tennis academy in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, where she is preparing the next generation of top tennis players for a fine career like hers.