Laureus TV interviews Justine Henin

Q - A lot of people around tennis say that Justine will be back. Can you say for sure that's not going to happen?

A - I can never say for sure that I'll never be back, because I hate to say never. But, for me, and the people who really know me, they know that when I do something, I do it 200% - and when I decide it's over, it's over - and I go to the next step. Life is a series of steps and different stages, and I have the feeling that I keep growing up a lot at the moment, and that's really a great experience. I keep control of my life and that's really important, I just decided this for myself and I've been amazed by the support I had from people, from people around me, from my fans. And a lot of people understood the decision, they're sad for the game and for tennis, but perhaps I can give something else now. That's important for me too.

Q - You were 25 when you retired, Bjorn Borg was 26. Kim Clijsters retired, I think we'd all say, early. Do you think people cannot play consistently at the highest level of the game successfully for a long period of time?

A - Being a professional athlete is very difficult. There are a lot of sacrifices. You need to live tennis, you need to sleep tennis, to eat tennis, to sleep tennis, to breath tennis. You need to give 200% all the time and I've been doing this for twenty years, as a professional for 10 years and you know that one day it's going to be over, because physically it's going to get harder, there's going to be an injury and I always said I hoped it wasn't going to be an injury that pushes me to stop. I wanted it to be my choice. And I was lucky to be able to get my choice. And it's very hard, because physically and mentally, the pressure and the expectations are so great, especially when you're number one for a few years. Really only the people who've been in my position can understand what it's like.

Q - Martina Navratilova said she'd miss you're game, especially compared to the 'big baseline bangers', as she called them. But, because of your size, the taller players had more reach, so you had to move more around the court to keep up with them. Did that have something to do with your decision to retire?

A - Yes, I think Martina's right. It's been harder for me than for someone else and I'm quite proud of it actually because I've been different on the tour and the game needs different sorts of personalities, different sorts of games and it's really important for the fans. I brought something different to game and not many people believed a few years ago that I could reach World Number One, that I could win Grand Slams. Carlos Rodriguez, my coach, was probably the only person that was telling me everyday that I could make it. And I told myself in my dreams, and that's been the story of my life. A few years ago I did this campaign, 'Impossible is Nothing' and it's really been my story. I proved that with hard work, with heart, with the determination, I could make it and I hope that will make some girls trust themselves and do more in the future.

Q - What was typical day for you when you were on the Tour?

A - It was quite hard when I was on the Tour, especially depending on the time of year because close to the end of the season, in December, I was working really, really hard five or six hours a day and then that's not it; you then need to see the your trainer, physio, do the press conferences, your sponsors. And there are so many demands. But I loved my job for so many years, it was my passion. I loved being on the court and I loved I could push my limits. But you can't do this the whole year and that's why careers become shorter and shorter, because it's so very difficult.

Q - When you were Number One there was a bit of a gap between you and the rest of the players, but who do you think out of the current crop of players will become Number One, or maybe they'll be fighting among themselves?

A - Yes, I think so; I think the concurrence is very high now. We see different girls who can win Grand Slams, but there is no-one who is dominating the tour at the moment. I think Ivanovic is the number one player in the world and I think she's finding that very normal now; he's getting used to it. She won the French and she's been very consistent for a year now. The Williams sisters, it's always ups and downs, but there is a real concurrence there. It's really interesting and exciting for the game. I'm not sure that anyone is going to be at the top for a very long time.

Q - Are there any players we might not have heard of who you think will make their mark on the Tour?

A - It's hard to say. You have a lot of talent, but you have a lot of pressures a lot of injuries, the way you deal with the pressure, the travelling. It's quite a difficult life so…. New faces are coming all the time on the tour. They get younger and younger - it's quite amazing because by 25, I was feeling so old on the tour because you see girls of 15 or 16 on the tour all the time. So, it's really hard to say that I think that this one, or that one is going to be really good. We'll have to see! I think there's a good generation that's coming up and it's going to be quite exciting for the game in the next ten years.

Q - There's been an explosion of Eastern European players on the tour - 13 of the current top 20 women players are from Eastern Europe. Does this surprise you?

A - No, it's not a big surprise. From the East, they know what they have to do. They know where they come from, it's been hard for them in the past they are fighting a lot for themselves and for their families. So they have a lot of motivation and a lot of determination to have another life. The mentality is different; they want to win, they want to fight. In our countries we are very comfortable. We feel very lucky, we are very lucky and we don't have to fight. You don't need - or you don't feel - that you need to work hard. That makes a difference sometimes.

Q - Are you saying there's more hunger in the East and the people in the west aren't so committed?

A - Maybe, it's hard to say. But, in the East, they know what they need to do to have a better life. They know how hard it's been for them in the past, they are fighting a lot. So they have a lot of motivation for sure.

Q - If we follow that attitude, will we see a lot more players come out from the rest of the world, from China and from Africa?

A - It's going to be interesting, they have a lot of good players. From Asia. Chinese players are becoming quite good on the Tour, and the Olympic games are obviously important to them, it's going to be interesting with new players form new countries. It's going to be very exciting, for the fans and for everyone.

Q - Do you enjoy watching the men's game?

A - I do, I do. I love men's tennis. I learnt a lot of things from watching men's tennis. I can watch, enjoy the game, the passion of tennis without the pressure. I loved it

Q - What did men's tennis teach you?

A - Probably my game was closer to what they do... Playing heavy, the girls. They are hitting so, so hard - always at the same speeds. I try to do different things with my game. I think also in the attitude and the mentality - Roger is always so calm on the court he teaches me… He doesn't know it, but he taught me so much.

Q - The French Open. It was your tournament in a way. Why did you do so well?

A - The French Open and I have a long story, a love story I would say. For a long time. The first time I was there I was ten years old, '92 with my mum,. And we were watching Steffi Graff and Monica Seles. I said to my mum, 'One day I'll be on this court and one day I'll win it!', and she said 'Yes', probably thinking 'It's good to dream'. And I did it, I did it four times. So, the dream came true. And it was my reality, I felt that like Paris was like my garden. The crowd in Paris. I love Paris, it's my favourite city. It feels like home. A lot of people from Belgium come to Paris to see me play there. It was always something special in my heart to play there on that centre court… Looking up at the sky, I always felt hat my mum was there with me whenever I was playing there. So it was amazing for me whenever I was playing there.

Q - That moment obviously made Paris so special for you?

A - Yes, so amazing. So special. My mum isn't here anymore. I lost my mum when I was twelve years old, but even if she doesn't know it, she brought so many good things in my life that I wanted to prove to her that I could make it… That gave me a lot of personality, a lot of character. She drove me a lot, that's for sure.

Q - You mentioned the crowd briefly. They warm to anyone who plays at Roland Garros and who obviously enjoys themselves, like you.

A - Yeah, the crowd at the French Open is really into it, they really love tennis, and they really care. They make a lot of noise and with friends in Belgium, it was so close, so familiar, so I felt that I was really home.

Q - You were there for the presentation this year, did you have any regret that it wasn't you winning?

A - No regrets, but, yes, it was emotional for sure. I had the feeling, when I gave the trophy to Ana Ivanovic, she was Number One and she 'took my trophy'! So yes, it was quite emotional, but it was my choice to be there and I have no regrets, and I was happy to be there, but now it's probably time to have some distance form the tennis world for the next few months or so…. Who knows.

Q - You've spoken about your Academies, your studies. Would you like to talk a little bit more about that now?

A - Yes, well I stopped going to school when I was sixteen because it was becoming quite hard to play tennis and be good at school, although I was a really good student. Them, when my mum passed away, I promised her that I would finish my school, high school. So in the last two or three years I said 'Ok., when I stop, I will finish it'. So, I've just started, I have two or three more years to go, but it's a challenge. A tough challenge, but I'm sure I'm going to make it, we'll see.

Also these Academies, it's going to be one year since we started in Belgium. We bought this big Club, we renovated everything and then we said ok. First of all it's a tennis club, so there are lots of members. Tennis is a sport and it's a passion first, so we don't want tennis just for professionals. We want it for fun, for kids. Now that Carlos is involved with it we can have kids who stay here to train. We have an Academy in Orlando and we have plans for all over the world. We really want to show something different, the way that I learned tennis we want to bring that abroad and give opportunities to the kids to have that culture of tennis that I had here in Belgium.

Q - Maybe you'll produce the next Justine Henin?

A - Yes, well, who knows! We all hope for that, but the thing for me that's important is to take kids and to help them grow up and first as a person, as a kid and then as a teenager and women or man. Then as a tennis player. We hope we can do something, but as I said tennis isn't just a job, it's a sport - a passion first. We must remember that.

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Q - An obvious question, you're here very near Brussels while the focus of the tennis world is on Wimbledon, can I ask how you're feeling?

A - I'm so happy, so relaxed and so relieved. I know that Wimbledon is going on and I'm following the results a little bit. I don't watch it, but I follow what's been going on in London. The thing is for me, is that it seems so far away. [At] the time[s] I was a tennis player, and now I have many other things in my life now going on; I feel very happy in my new life; many projects, many new goals and I don't think too much about tennis right now.

Q - Will you go to Wimbledon this year, before the end of the Championships?

A - No I don't think so. I was at the French Open, because I had a lot of things to do over there, my retirement was really fresh at the time, so I had to go over there and talk to the press. But now, I just want to keep some distance and this summer it's going to be about lots of holidays for me, plus I just started to study again, so I'm going to be quite busy in the next few weeks.

I just feel very happy this way.

Q - You were runner-up at Wimbledon twice, in 2001 and 2006. What are your feelings for the Championship?

A - It [not winning Wimbledon] has been the big disappointment of my career, for sure. In my press conference [announcing retirement] I said if I'd won Wimbledon it would never have changed anything in my life, I wouldn't be more happy. And that's what I feel, but in terms of achievements in my career, that's the tournament I missed.

It's a great tradition, the English, the British tradition, I love it. That was a place I felt very comfortable, but my game wasn't quite good enough and I probably wasn't confident enough to win on the grass - even though everyone was telling me I had the capacity and the opportunity win over there.

Q - Martina Navratilova said on Laureus.com that she was surprised and disappointed you'd retired, because she felt that this year, with your game, you could win Wimbledon this year. Do you think if you'd carried on you could have won Wimbledon?

A - I'm not quite sure about that… This year was quite difficult for me; I'm the only person who can really say how I was feeling in the last few months and these last six months I've been thinking 'should I stop, should I keep playing?' and I didn't have anymore this fire inside of me - and when you don't have the fire, it's time to go.

I mean, it's been a good decision, I mean brave, but a good one because I felt my time on the tour was over. Wimbledon, Olympic Games were both important goals for me this year in my career, but I need to do what I really want to do

Q - Did this decision come suddenly when you woke up one morning and though 'I want to stop'?

A - No, not really. I felt something at the end of the Championships in Madrid last year. I played the longest match of my career against Sharapova and won the Championships. Then I went on holiday and I came back and felt something was wrong. I was starting to feel that something was changing in my body, in my heart and I had the feeling that there were a lot of things going on. I just kept fighting it. I went back on the Tour, in Australia, and my results weren't so good at the beginning of the year. I started to ask myself a lot of questions and after Berlin it became really clear that it was the time to take this decision.

Carlos has been a lot of support for myself...

Q - This is Carlos...?

A - Carlos is my coach, and we talked together after the match I lost against (Dinara) Safina in Berlin, the last match of my career, and we were very calm. Even if I lost we were ok, even an hour after that match, we knew what was going on. We talked a lot and understood that it was the time; it was over for me.

I can't say it came in one day, but it was six months of reflection, thinking of what was best for myself.

Q - For someone like myself, the surprise was that this [your retirement] happened just before the French , which - in a sense - was your backyard, and before Wimbleodn, which you'd never won. Weren't you tempted perhaps to wait until August? Wait a few more months?

A - No, never ever. Because I really think that in my position, the way I was feeling, I didn't have any chance to win these two tournaments. It's tough to take these sorts of decisions when you're Number One, and people are expecting so much. I've been thinking for myself - maybe for the first time in my life - and it's been important to feel in peace and just say 'Ok, this is what I want to do'.

Then a lot of things came into my life. I said, well, perhaps its time for me to go back to studying, maybe it's time for me to give back to tennis what tennis gave me, with my Academies. It's been important for myself to say, 'Ok - I can be happy in another way, not just on the court'.

I don't need the adrenalin of being in-front of 20,000 people and needing to win this match point. I just need intensity in my life, now I put the intensity in my relationships, with people, in love, in friendships, in my work now, in my studying. It's just being intense and engaged. It's really quite important for me.

Q - So what have you been doing here now that Wimbledon's been going on?

A - Well, I just started to study again and I have to finish my High School. I have two more years. I've been over in Monaco studying and that keeps me quite busy and I'm really quite happy about that. I'll study for two more years and do something else which will help me with my business and all the other stuff. I want to spend some time with the people I love, and I've been a lot in my Academies. I want to be really involved in this and yes, I feel happier than ever.

Q - Wimbledon has already shown that things are different. Sharapova is out and Ivanovic had a very difficult match. Can you talk about those two and how in a big championship there are always going to be problems for them.

A - I think Ivanovic, the winner of the French open, has some more experience, some more toughness. And confidence. It's very hard whenever you win your first Grand Slam, the expectations are always there. You have to deal with another pressure. She's Number One in the world now, and it will take some time to get used to that and it's another thing in her life. She's going to be the favourite in every tournament and people are going to look at her. Every time she wins, it's normal, but when she loses it's going to be very strange for people. So, Sharapova has the talent, the determination but she needs to be consistent and to stay healthy. It's been quite difficult for her over the last few weeks, since her win at the Australian Open. So it will be a good fight between these players but I think these two are really the ones to watch out for.

Q - Wimbledon. Do you have a hunch.? Who's going to win it this year? The Williams sisters always seem to come through, and you lost in a final to Venus, didn't you?

A - I keep thinking that Venus is the best player on grass, but she always has difficult starts in the tournament. First rounds she always suffers a little bit. I don't know what's going on for her at the moment, but I keep thinking she's the main favourite for the tournament. She's big, tall and she plays very well on grass. So, for me, she's the favourite.

From the men's side... I don't know… for me I hope that Roger wins it again, but I see Nadal this year. I don't know… It's going to be exciting for both of them

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Q - You won the 2008 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award - what did that mean to you?

A - It was a really big honour. The last really big honour of my career, I would say. When I was in St Petersburg, when I got that trophy, I was so proud. It was emotional, I was feeling that well, I was at the top of my career at that time and being with all these athletes, it was an honour for myself. I was really enjoying myself over there and it was a night I will never forget.

Q - The way the winners of the Laureus Awards are selected is quite special as they come from the Academy, who are also athletes. Does that make it even more special?

A - Yes, it means a lot. It doesn't come from the press, it doesn't come from the fans, it comes from you know, top athletes. Athletes that really have lived my life, you know, athletes who have had the same problems that I have had in the past, made a lot of sacrifices, who have a lot of devotion. So, the fact that they decided to give me with trophy was something very special to me. The biggest honour of my career.

Q - Laureus supports over 60 projects over the world, which use sport to help make a difference around the world. You have your own Foundation, maybe we can see you working with Laureus together in the future?

A - Maybe, who knows? Probably,. Maybe we have something to do together in the future. What happened to me is still very fresh in my life, but after a few months maybe I can think about that. My Foundation is very important to me. I support kids who have cancer, who are sick. It's really important to me that I do that because I've been lucky, I've had everything in my life, I've always been healthy. When I see these kids fighting, I need to do something for them and Laureus it's quite amazing what they are doing for many projects and we need to support that. Maybe we [Laureus] can do something in the future?

Q - One reason Laureus has been so successful is that sportsmen and women have wanted to give something back. Is this true in your case?

A - Yes, it's very important. Tennis has been an amazing school of life for myself. So, I need to give back to tennis, give back to sport generally and give back to people what they gave me. For myself, it's really important to help kids especially. I've been dreaming of Steffi Graf in the past and it's really important for me to try to help in my own way, at a different level, like helping little girls who want to become professional tennis players in the future. That's why I decided to create these Academies, with my coach, and it's going to be important for me in the future.

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