Justine Henin's Profile

Personal Detail

Name: Justine Henin (BEL) Residence: Marloie, Belgium) Birthdate: June 1, 1982 Birthplace: Liege, Belgium Height: 1.67 m Weight: 57 kg Plays: Right-handed Status: Pro (January 1, 1999)

Coach: Carlos Rodrigues - trains at the Association Francophone de Tennis Fiance: Pierre Yves Hardene

Interesting Facts

~ Her mother, Francoise, passed away when Justine was 12. She has two older brothers, David and Thomas, and a younger sister, Sarah, all of whom play tennis.

~ Favorite place to visit is Montreal, where her godfather lives.

~ Superstition is to avoid walking on the tennis court lines between points.

~ Pet peeves are people who are late and "hangers on" in the tennis world.

~ Admires her father for his sense of humor.

~ Tennis player most admired is Steffi Graf for her elegance on the court and all she accomplished in her career.

~In 1997, received the "Trophy 40-15" as Belgium's most popular tennis personality.

~ Baseliner who prefers clay courts; backhand is her strongest shot

~Goal is to be ranked in the world's Top 50 in 2000 and the Top 20 by 2002 (Refreshingly modest).

~ Began playing tennis at age five with her father.

~Her hobbies are going to the cinema and listening to music (especially Celine Dion).

~Her favourite soccerteam is Anderlecht.

~Her favourite tennis court underground is clay and her favourite weapon is one-handed backhand.

~Her favourite player is Steffi Graff because she plays so elegant and because of everything she reached in her career.

~Comes from a family of which everyone plays tennis. Justine started to play tennis when she was 5. Her father was her teacher.

~ Justine is largely responsible for Sanex becoming the sponsor of the WTA Tour. At the time, Sanex were sponsoring Justine and were so impressed by the young Belgian, they became so interested in tennis, they are now the title sponsor of the Ladies tour.

Career Archievements

HIGHEST RANKING SINGLES: 5 (9/07/01)

WTA TOUR singles titles: 4

2001 Heineken Trophy, Netherlands

Gold Coast, Australia

Canberra, Australia

1999 Antwerp, Belgium

WTA TOUR doubles titles: 0

ITF Women's Circuit singles titles: 4

Other Facts

~ Made Semi-Finals of 2000 German Open, defeating Venus Williams, the first time she had beaten a top 10 player. Unfortunately, Justine rolled her ankle in the semi final and had to forfeit her match to Jennifer Capriati.

~ Began 2001 with 11 match winning streak taking the Gold Coast and Canberra titles along the way. Made 4th Round at Australian Open, where she fell to Monica Seles.

~ Defeated Anna Kournikova for the second time in the 3rd at the 2000 US Open, falling to Davenport in 4th round.

~ Became the fifth player to win her debut WTA Tour event, winning 1999 Antwerp, Belgium, where she received a wildcard into the main draw; defeated top seed and world No. 35 Sarah Pitkowski in the final 6-1, 6-2; also became the lowest ranked player in 10 years to win a Tour singles event since No. 205 Kumiko Okamoto won the 1989 Japan Open on April 23, 1989.

~ Most memorable experience was playing Lindsay Davenport on Court Central at the 1999 French Open, losing 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, in her second WTA Tour tournament.

~ In 1999 Fed Cup play for Belgium, won both her singles matches over Miriam Oremans and Amanda Hopmans of Holland to lead Belgium to a 3-2 win.

~ Won seven satellite and challenger events on the ITF Women's Circuit from 1997 through mid-1999.

~ In 1997, became the youngest winner ever of the Belgian National Championships at age 15 years, two months, and defeated Top 40 pro Dominique Van Roost.

~ In junior competition, won the 1997 French Open juniors as a wildcard, becoming the first Belgian to win there since 1947; won the 1996 Orange Bowl 14s and European Championships 14s; quarterfinalist at the 1997 Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior events.