Justine Henin Quits The Grunting Game, A.K.A. Women’s Tennis

It’s uncertain why great talent retires so young. Maybe it’s the money spilling out of their pockets, the fame weighing them down or the ligaments and tendons occasionally tearing that spurns a class athlete to quit while they’re ahead. No. 1 ranked women’s tennis pro, Justine Henin, has called it quits at the peak age of 25 because she’s given everything to the sport and she’s taken everything she can. We think she’s just tired of guy’s waiting for her skirt to fly up during backhands.

“This is the end of a child’s dream,” said Henin, the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings. “This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious.”
Henin, though, won’t have any sort of farewell tour. She is quitting immediately.
“It is a new beginning for me. I feel like I already lived three lives. I gave the sport all I could and took everything it could give me,” she said. “I take this decision without the least bit of regrets. It is my life as a woman that starts now.”

It’s like Barry Sanders all over again. Except Henin is white. And a woman. And plays tennis. But it’s totally parallel.
No. 1 Justine Henin retires from tennis immediately [Chron]
Image [ABC]