Justine pulls out of Australian Open

[Edna Krabappel]

For personal reasons.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Justine Henin-Hardenne will skip the Australian Open and a preliminary tournament because of undisclosed personal reasons.

Australian Open spokesman John Lindsay confirmed Thursday that Henin-Hardenne -- the No. 1 player in the world -- withdrew from the tournament that begins Jan. 15 in Melbourne. She was the runner-up last year.
Lindsay said Australian Open officials checked with the WTA Tour after the Belgian player withdrew earlier Thursday from next week's Sydney International. They were told that Henin-Hardenne wouldn't play in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, either.

Sydney International tournament director Craig Watson said senior WTA Tour officials informed them of Henin-Hardenne's decision to pull out.

"I was told the withdrawal was for personal reasons," Watson said. "Obviously we are very disappointed; Justine is our defending champion.

"I believe she is quite upset and we certainly wish her the best and hope she is able to return to the courts very soon."

Henin-Hardenne is expected to issue a statement on Friday, Watson said.

Amelie Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year, will take over as the top seed for the Sydney tournament which begins Monday.

Henin-Hardenne, 24, won the French Open last season and reached the final at the three other majors before capping 2006 with a win in the season-ending WTA Tour Championship.

She had a 60-8 record last year.



This is scary. I really can't imagine what could be the problem.

[janie]

Oh no!

[janie]

Josh @ wtaworld says that "sources close to Justine" say that she and PY are having serious marriage problems.

[Edna Krabappel]

janie said:

Josh @ wtaworld says that "sources close to Justine" say that she and PY are having serious marriage problems.

She found out he's gay!!!!!!!!11

Seriously though, I wouldn't be too surprised if it came out to be true (them having marriego problems, not him being gay). I still remember him looking awfully bored and disinterested during the US final and her looking more devastated then ever over a loss. Maybe I'm imagining things but it did strike me as odd at the time.

[Brinyi]

Ze Belgian press (La Meuse) reports that JHH and PY have separated.

www.lameuse.be/la_une/liege/2007/01/04/article_justine_henin_hardenne_c_est_le_divorce.shtml

[DBBN]

SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So, yeah, my day is ruined.

[janie]

brinyi said:

Ze Belgian press (La Meuse) reports that JHH and PY have separated.

www.lameuse.be/la_une/liege/2007/01/04/article_justine_henin_hardenne_c_est_le_divorce.shtml

This is so upsetting. They were still together & looking good at that UNESCO thing.

I can't see how she can rebound quickly from this. I know that some people divorce as nonchalantly as changing apartments, but my guess is that for our intense little JHH, this is totally shattering. Carlos & PY have been pretty much her whole world for many, many years now.

[DBBN]

janie said:

brinyi said:

Ze Belgian press (La Meuse) reports that JHH and PY have separated.

www.lameuse.be/la_une/liege/2007/01/04/article_justine_henin_hardenne_c_est_le_divorce.shtml

This is so upsetting. They were still together & looking good at that UNESCO thing.

Yeah, given the timing of the entire situation, this had to have been a fairly recent explosion. Was PY busted? In bed with another...well, for the sake of argument, let's say woman?

I can't see how she can rebound quickly from this. I know that some people divorce as nonchalantly as changing apartments, but my guess is that for our intense little JHH, this is totally shattering. Carlos & PY have been pretty much her whole world for many, many years now.

Exactly. SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

But, you know, she's been under scrutiny before, and thrived in spite of it. Her heart may be broken but I don't think that will affect her game. I hope Carlos will continue to be there for her at all times, though -- she needs him.

[DBBN]

Also, you just know the Clijsters Clique is being absolutely 5 about the whole thing.

[leelee]

Lame. This kills the women's side for me.

I guess I just don't understand this. A failing marriage is not a reason to quit your job. Especially a marriage like theirs, which they were apart for much of the year.

[Traveling Man]

I was stunned by the news. This does help Martina's cause for the AO somewhat, but tossing that aside, and assuming it is a divorce, I really do feel for her. She's still so young and to have been through all that she has and now this. She's really been tested her entire life. I hope she can come out strong after all this. Having said that, I don't see her returning to the Tour before the European clay-court season. On the plus side, even if it is a divorce, at least there are no kids involved. I hope Justine and PY manage to work things out amicably and she can overcome this.

[Edna Krabappel]

hurley said:

Yeah, given the timing of the entire situation, this had to have been a fairly recent explosion. Was PY busted? In bed with another...well, for the sake of argument, let's say woman?

Could be it, assuming they really are getting divorced. Or maybe PY got tired of following her around the world and refused to travel down to Australia. Or they had been having problems for a while and it all errupted over some seemingly trivial matter.

It may sound crazy, but I think divorce is actually one of the best options here. Another person close to her getting ill would have been much harder for her to take, I think.

[DBBN]

I mean, obviously now I would love to see Hingis win it, but I don't think it helps her at all. Before JHH w/d, she had a real chance in the QF against only one of the Top Four seeds (Kuznetsova) and now...nothing's changed, since JHH will be replaced by Kim.

[leelee]

Maria will win. The end.

[janie]

I find your posts more enjoyable now that I've turned off Signatures, Leena. I felt like I was at wtaworld for a couple days there before I realized I could eliminate the excess baggage. ;D

[corswandt]

If the Hardennes' régime matrimonial is the default one provided by the Code Civil (Napoleon's, revised):

Art. 1405. [revised 1976] Sont communs :
1. les revenus de l'activité professionnelle de chacun des époux, tous revenus ou indemnités en tenant lieu ou les complétant, ainsi que les revenus provenant de l'exercice de mandats publics ou privés;

And

Art. 1445. [revised 1976] S'il reste un actif, il se partage par moitié.

So unless they chose another régime matrimonial (or unless PY or JHH has done something naughty and the divorce isn't by consentement mutuel) PY can lay claim to half of the loot.

Source:

www.juridat.be/cgi_loi/loi_F.pl?cn=1804032133

[Pamela Shriver]

hurley said:

I mean, obviously now I would love to see Hingis win it, but I don't think it helps her at all. Before JHH w/d, she had a real chance in the QF against only one of the Top Four seeds (Kuznetsova) and now...nothing's changed, since JHH will be replaced by Kim.

Against Mauresmo in the QF, where she is defending champion, and knows her point totals are going to start sinking rapidly, I give her a really good shot.

Anyway, I feel very badly for Justine. I wanted her to win.

[janie]

I thought she was supposed to "issue a statement" today? Apparently not ...

Justine's no-show still 'personal'
By Margie McDonald
January 06, 2007

THE reasons for Justine Henin-Hardenne's shock withdrawal from the Australian summer season remain a mystery.

In an updated message on the world No.1's website yesterday, the Belgian indicated her decision to skip Melbourne's Australian Open and the Medibank International in Sydney was deeply personal, without elaborating further.

Henin-Hardenne will forfeit her No.1 ranking and will be fined $US10,000 ($12,770) for her late withdrawal.

As late as Wednesday, the message on her website said how well her off-season training had been going and how much she was looking forward to arriving back in Australia.

Whatever is distracting her, it must be overwhelming since Henin-Hardenne has been able to keep her personal turmoil intensely private in the past.

"I am withdrawing from the Medibank International in Sydney and the Australian Open in Melbourne for personal family reasons that require my full attention," Henin-Hardenne said yesterday.

"I hope that my fans and others are able to understand that because this is a personal matter, I am not comfortable providing any more detail at this time.

"If and when the time is right, I will provide additional detail. I thank you all for respecting my privacy at this time, and I look forward to getting back on the court as soon as possible."

Henin-Hardenne's older sister Florence died at the age of three after a hit-and-run car accident nine years before Henin-Hardenne was born.

The death is reported to have strained the marriage of her parents, Jose and Francoise Henin.

When she was 14, Henin-Hardenne lost her mother to cancer. Francoise Henin had been the one family member to encourage her blossoming tennis career.

She left home at 17 revealing her family life was "like a prison" and was a negative effect on her tennis development.

She severed all contact with her father, brothers David and Thomas, and younger sister Sarah for more than five years.

But in recent years Henin-Hardenne is understood to have had minimal contact with both her father and sister, although neither has been at any of the five Grand Slam titles she has won.

It was at 19 that Henin-Hardenne came into sharp public focus when she reached the Wimbledon final in 2001, losing to Venus Williams in three sets.

But the blonde with the deadly accurate one-handed backhand won many fans. She had a presence and stoic style about her, not unlike other intensely private stars Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Steffi Graf.

Henin-Hardenne came off court at Wimbledon six years ago to learn her maternal grandfather had died. She had telephoned him after she beat Jennifer Capriati in the semi-finals.

"He was so happy for me, and so proud, that I'm glad he knew I made it to the final," Henin-Hardenne said at the time.

"He always believed in me and never judged my decisions."

What the Belgian may have lacked in close family support, she has found in long-time coach Carlos Rodriquez, who took her on as 14-year-old.

Her bond with Pierre-Yves Hardenne, whom she moved in with after leaving her family, resulted in marriage in November 2002.

If Henin-Hardenne is true to form, she may never reveal the exact nature of her current personal upheaval.

[Grarliner]

Weird.

[ballbuster as guest]

and i thought she was going to win the grandslam this year

[Wagasi]

I'd be upset if there wasn't so much joke potential in this. I might go off women's tennis for good if she doesn't start playing soon.

[DBBN]

Once she and Amelie retire it's going to be dark, very dark. A bunch of grunting idiots with their queen, Sharapova, going 67-0.

[janie]

ewwwww!

[janie]

You forgot to mention they will all be 6 feet tall or more ...

[Edna Krabappel]

hurley said:

Once she and Amelie retire it's going to be dark, very dark. A bunch of grunting idiots with their queen, Sharapova, going 67-0.

That's what we all thought about Serena, but it didn't turn out that way.
There's always hope.

[Pamela Shriver]

hurley said:

Once she and Amelie retire it's going to be dark, very dark. A bunch of grunting idiots with their queen, Sharapova, going 67-0.

Yes. I'll so miss her annual RG displays.

[:rolleyes:]

This is too much drama for me to handle. I'm think i'm throwing in the towel as a philistine.

I guess it will be all Masha for me as to where my support goes. Though I don't think I could ever be as big of a fan of hers as I was of Justine's.

[:rolleyes:]

Why didn't she just make up an injury if she's not going to play?

[:rolleyes:]

A thread about Justine's problems manages to turn into another Sharahate thread.

Grow the fuck up people. You guys are similar to Williams fans with their ability to pull race cards regardless of what the situation.

[leelee]

Sorry. We'll be back to hating the SISTAHZ within a week's time when ESPN hypes up Serena/Random Romanian in 1r as a huge match.