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Post by janie on May 14, 2008 9:44:20 GMT -5
Justine is full of surprises, but this one is a real shocker: She just RETIRED. Full stop. End of story. Holy crap!
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Post by DBBN on May 14, 2008 10:09:06 GMT -5
So. That's it, then.
I'm SUPER pissed. What a...coward, really.
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Post by janie on May 14, 2008 10:33:31 GMT -5
Ha, I don't see it that way. She's lost her fire. Doesn't want to be out there on the court battling, so why should she? But I will really, really, really miss her brand of tennis. Without her and Amelie we've got nothing but Big Babe Bashers. YUCK!
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Post by DBBN on May 14, 2008 10:38:44 GMT -5
Yup, I just said that in the retirements thread.
I expect this kind of "it's not easy anymore, so I'm out" mentality from that wimp Martina, and I loved her anyway. She's a lazy bastard, so okay -- you're done? Whatever.
But Justine is different, or so I thought. She didn't go out fighting either, and that's not what I expected. That's not her character, which I loved -- or so I thought.
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Post by janie on May 14, 2008 18:37:27 GMT -5
We'll miss you, Justine!
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Post by corswandt on May 14, 2008 18:41:14 GMT -5
*throws flower into open grave*
I also lost my favourite player today, for all intents and purposes, so I share your grief.
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Post by DBBN on May 14, 2008 18:44:28 GMT -5
Okay. It's okay. I should not have read about this at work. If she's REALLY happy...okay, then it's okay, then I'm okay with it.
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Post by sasha on May 14, 2008 19:10:12 GMT -5
Okay, Brooke.
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Post by DBBN on May 14, 2008 19:21:11 GMT -5
LOL. Um...I think I know why that's funny.
Anyway...whatever, I was surprisingly unaffected, overall. I like going into a major not caring at all who wins.
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Post by sasha on May 14, 2008 19:49:02 GMT -5
Only if you're a masochist like me and watch American Idol.
Surprisingly, I don't care either. I guess because I watch the men's game much more these days.
Meh. Justine turned into a basher herself. Just a medium sized one.
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Post by freudo on May 15, 2008 5:29:43 GMT -5
I'm okay with it--she's been around so long and done so much, and grown so much, and overcome so much--I mean even th form of it is Justine, just do it, win, feel sick retire--she was a beautiful smart player, and now I hope she makes a really interesting next stage of life. Maybe sh'll reconsider, but I think when your Mom dies as young as she did, one's whole perspective on time is affected. One fears something like that will happen to you. She's a fragile creature health wise, and she wants to take the pressure off. She can always sky dive for thrills I'll miss her though, a lot!
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Post by janie on May 15, 2008 7:08:40 GMT -5
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Post by janie on May 16, 2008 12:37:49 GMT -5
Justine's speech in her press conferencewww.justine-henin.be/public/index.asp?lang=en"It's a great day in my life, I believe that you can call it that. I'm here today to announce to you that I am putting a definitive end to my tennis career. I know that it is a shock for many people and a surprise, but for me it's decision I've thought about for sometime now. It is not a decision which I made because of a simple defeat in Berlin. I've thought about it in my head for sometime, for a few months already, since the latter month of 2007. It's an end to a beautiful adventure. Perhaps, people will think that I am still young, but there are no rules. I invested enormously in my sport, since the age of five. I always lived for tennis, and it's without regret because I lived emotions which I will never forget. Images engraved in my heart and my memory, and I am sure it's in the heart and the memory of many of you too. Today a page has turned. I don't feel sadness, but rather a delivery, a relief, a glance towards the future. I always seek to build and change, and not only by tennis. I believe that tennis gave me many beautiful things, but I want to do it by returning to the essentials. I based my life on the relationships, the love and all that I could give to tennis. But I couldn't manage to express it anymore these past months. I thought about it alot. I made this decision by myself in my little corner, with the support of my family, off course. But I wanted to make the decision for me. I am very, very proud. You need courage to arrive at this conclusion. I felt that six months or even one year later I would have a harsh bitter taste if I continued, and that things won't get better than what happened these last few months. But today, I can speak about my sport, all that I lived with a smile, very beautiful things happened and they are in my heart. I have a desire to create new things. The future for me is to live with my decision, and to realize my new goals. To assume it and breathe again. There are no bad things ahead for me. I feel that I have the qualities and capacities, to communicate and raise many new projects. I'm sure I will see things much more clearly when the time comes. The first is my Foundation. It's really very important for me to be able to continue to help these children, to live precious moments with them. To continue to give them a chance to dream. We're here at my home. Right in my tennis academy. This is something which I will continue to support, off course with Carlos. He'll be stronger and valuable here. I have confidence in other future projects. There are peak performance workshops and seminars with Carlos and Nexum/Nexp in the area of human resources. Off course, there are gratitudes to give. The first of which is to Carlos - I say thank. You are once more at my side. It's 12 years together that we lived , and you held me up. 12 years to believe in me. You never abandoned me. He was always very discrete and standing in the shadows when I won because he didn't want to intrude on my family and friends. But at other times, the difficult moments he made his presence known. He always respected me, and I must say since last week Thursday he still impresses me. The calm and patience he gave me. The incredible amount of support. I know he will always be strong and at my side. I am really very proud of this because tennis is a solo sport. It is undoubtedly my most exquisite thing of pride - the human adventure that I lived with him. And I believe that if Carlos had said to me one day, "Ju for family reasons or some other reason. Please don't feel obligated. You can let me go". It was obvious to me that we would still continue as a team even if my tennis career stopped. We're powerful together, and this is why it worked so well. Our relationship was much bigger than coach and a player. We passed all the tests, but from now on it will be different, it will be more beautiful. I'm grateful to his family - his wife and children who will get more of their father. And the thought of this makes me smile today. It's also a relief to know there won't be these difficult moments, these separations. They really have a big place in my heart. I would like to, off course, thank my family - my parents, Dad, Mom, because I'm here today only because of you. Everything is fine thanks to you. My brothers and sister too. I have to admit that my role as older sister makes me very happy. There are great things which await us. My friends here today. It was great spending time with you and I'm sure there's more ahead for us, bigger things, more honest and stronger. My Godmother is here. Gene, thank you for your role in my life it was very important. My staff obviously. You can only build something large with a faithful team. And they were always available and believed in me. Thank you for being there. It wasn't an individual sport, but a team sport. Thank You to all my sponsors, the current ones and those from the very beginning because without people who believe - you cannot get there. Thank You to the AFT, the WTA, the COIB and all the people who counted on me. Thank You to all my fans. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to give them excitement. I hope I brought a little sunshine in their lives. We spent such great moments together. I hope that everyone can understand and that everyone will support me in the beginning of this new life... Thank you very much
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Post by Brinyi on May 16, 2008 12:40:17 GMT -5
"I don't feel sadness, but rather a delivery" This is when they brought in the pizza?
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Post by janie on May 16, 2008 14:43:30 GMT -5
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Post by janie on May 16, 2008 15:14:04 GMT -5
It's a beautiful speech, though. I posted it, but didn't actually read it all till right now, and it made me cry. I didn't cry when I found out she quit tennis, though I was extremely sad, but reading her moving speech did the trick. I will really, really miss this unique kid and her gorgeous game and if it weren't for Younes, Akgul, and the 10K's, I don't think I'd be very interested in pro tennis for a while. But the men do have some fun players to watch now, so I'll probably be switching mostly to them for my tennis entertainment, because it may be a while before Akgul is contending for Slam titles.
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Post by Wagasi on May 20, 2008 21:32:30 GMT -5
I still call shenanigans, but I have to accept that it's over. It's interesting that her first and last tournament wins were in Antwerp. Also that one of the earliest memories I have of her is her playing Venus at Wimbledon and one of the last is of her playing Venus at the US Open last year. Goodbye. I think I'll be done following women's tennis for a while, like after Steffi retired.
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Post by Edna Krabappel on May 24, 2008 5:28:34 GMT -5
Eurosport has just shown a Justine Henin special, where she talked about the best matches of her career, Carlos, her family and such. She had the same hairstyle as ever and little make-up, but she looked fantastic. Totally radiant, much better than I've ever seen her look on court. She does look relieved, almost like a different person. Good for her.
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Post by janie on Jul 8, 2008 17:01:18 GMT -5
Just posting here so we don't forget Justine and her glorious game. I wonder if any of the tv analysts at the US Open will even mention her.
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Post by sasha on Jul 8, 2008 19:27:39 GMT -5
This is the last year it's on USA, so they will.
Hopefully they'll use the '03 epic SF against Capriati as rain filler.
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Post by janie on Jul 8, 2008 19:32:40 GMT -5
I have that match on DVD.
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Post by janie on Aug 29, 2008 17:31:51 GMT -5
I miss ya, kid. Nice BH you've got there; you could be somebody someday!
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Post by janie on Sept 28, 2008 20:21:15 GMT -5
Copied from wtaworld: There was an article about Carlos and Justine academies in the belgian magazine Trends. I'll try to post a scan of the article later. In summary:
- Carlos said he’ll never work with another female tennis player
- The academy in Limelette is the main one in Belgium but they have three other smaller academies and soon they’ll have a fourth one. They’ll launch officially the academy in Orlondo on 27th September and would like to build one in Beijing. They want to bring the concept of “mini tennis” abroad and would like to be one of the top academies within 5 years. Carlos said he prefers quality over quantity and will be more or less 10 weeks a year in Orlando to see if things go well,…
- Justine owns 45% of Covadis (organization of sports competitions, shows, concerts,…) and invested in a Belgian basketball club (her ex manager owns that club apparently). The article says she’ll maybe also invest in high technologies and ecology (she's a real business woman now).
- She’s very excited about new projects for her foundation. The name will change, it will be “Justine for kids” and she would like to collaborate with Unicef. And apparently there was a promotional event for Adidas in Germany and Justine was there. She played golf with Nick Faldo.
- Justine said she’s very happy to continue to work with Carlos, he manages the academies and she trusts him 100%.
- On 27th September, they’ll officially launch the 6th sense academy in Orlando. Justine and Carlos will be there and Pat Etcheberry will join the team. He won’t work in Tampa anymore, he’ll be full time at Justine academy.
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Post by sasha on Sept 28, 2008 21:35:28 GMT -5
Justine Henin. A successful businesswoman. At 26.
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Post by Brinyi on Oct 7, 2008 10:53:52 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
I know it's been ages since I wrote to you. I'm sorry. The moment has arrived to give you some news. I had a splendid summer. I felt a deep need to get my breath back. My first true vacation gave me an opportunity to really relax. It's a great pleasure to discover this new life I lead - with curiosity and without pressure. I learn a lot with each moment, and I savour simple pleasures of everyday life such as reading the daily newspaper. But I continue to be very active and work. I'm in a permanent pursuit of new projects.
I resumed my high school studies. In the peace and calm of Monaco, I go forward with my courses. I would like to take my final exams next year. I admit that it hasn't been easy, but it's very rewarding. I will do everything I can to complete this challenge.
I was a speaker for the first time at a coaching seminar. It was marvelous. Carlos and I shared our experiences to the attendees. I also went to Orlando, Florida and officially opened our new American branch of the 6th Sense Academy. It's an enthralling project which I want to give more of myself.
As you can see, I don't have time to be bored! Many people ask me if I still do a lot of sports. Unfortunately, the answer is no. My knee still bothers me, and in a few days I'll have surgery done on it. I'm impatient, and can’t wait to recover from the operation to do sports again. I'll be honest with you, I do not miss tennis. I keep a magic feeling of that period of my life. A time where I learned so much, but a new life fills me, and I am completely satisfied.
Even if you think I'm far away from you, I remain close to you in spirit. Thank you for all your messages of encouragement and eternal support.
Lots of love,
Justine
Brinyi's interpretation: I'm so bored that I'm going to high school classes and going to Orlando to kill time. As soon as I recover from knee surgery I'll prepare my triumphant return to the tour.
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Post by janie on Oct 7, 2008 16:12:07 GMT -5
Ha, no, she has to finish HS to fulfill a promise she made to her Mom. I'm not sure what to think when she says "it hasn't been easy", though. Shouldn't it be fairly easy for a 26-year-old who's been all around the world to finish high school?? I hope she's not just <gasp!> not too bright. Carlos also opened his usual big mouth recently, with the usual hilarious results. For one thing, he was disgusted after working with Chak, who apparently wasn't into working as hard as JH was. Surprise! So now he's declared he will never work w/ another female player. Too bad for us. He was also very unimpressed with the current crop of players -- aside from VW, SW, and MS, he thinks they're all basically crap. ;D
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Post by janie on Nov 23, 2008 10:27:16 GMT -5
Justine has signed up to play an exo in Denmark against you-know-what-Dane, sometime next year.
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Post by Edna Krabappel on Nov 23, 2008 10:30:46 GMT -5
In December 2009 the tennis world is left in shock as Justine Henin-Rodriguez announces her return to WTA.
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Post by DBBN on Nov 23, 2008 12:05:04 GMT -5
Ewwwwwwww, LOL.
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Post by freudo on Nov 24, 2008 6:40:30 GMT -5
exo? must want some petty cash to pay for books and tutors
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