Tennis fans Rejoice! Justine Henin is coming back

After the spate of comebacks in the women’s game going back a few years from Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and more recently, Kim Clijsters, finally, and I mean FINALLY, we have a comeback worth rejoicing.

Power players beware: Justine Henin is coming back!

Bring out the bubbly! Time to start watching women’s tennis again, I’ll say. Can’t watch the young shiftless clowns anymore... and the oh-there-is-so-much-pressure-to-win-whaa-whaa-whaa tantrums for another second!

Justine Henin made an announcement to the Belgian press that she was feeling the fire....oh, why don’t I let her tell it how it is.

“I was very impatient and I am really happy and profoundly moved to be able to announce this evening that I will return to competition very quickly. I know it is surprising since, on May 14th 2008, I had put a definite end to my tennis career. But then there was a long personal journey, I think, in these last 15 months, which were enriching.” 

Henin said, “I found out many more things about myself and all of this allowed me to concentrate and then there was a flame which lit up again, which I thought had been blown out forever, and little by little this desire to come back, to live things differently, with wisdom, more maturity and through sharing as well.” {Source: Sky News]

More happy news came in the announcement that Henin will team up with long time coach and mentor and friend Carlos Rodriguez. Rodriguez was moved, naturally, and promised he would do everything in his power to ensure a successful start to Henin’s comeback campaign which is set to begin at the start of the 2010 season, just in time for the Aussie Open. (Are we there yet? What month is it? Crikey, three more months...)

The tandem had gone on to win 41 career titles, including seven grand slam titles – Four French Open titles (2003, 2005-07), two US Open titles (2003, 2007) and one Aussie Open (2004). The only grand slam title to elude Henin is Wimbledon; she managed to threaten to win in 2001 and 2006 but settled for the runner-up tray.

Rodriguez revealed Henin’s desire to win Wimbledon was one of the main reasons she decided to reverse retirement. Her retirement did have an unfinished air about it when she up and retired out of nowhere come to think about it.

Grand motivations, check. High goals, check. Training begun, check. Rodriguez and Henin renew their partnership, check. A great recipe for a successful 2010 campaign methinks and a rather revealing statement for the WTA premium to take note (yes, take note girls – Dinara, Ana, Jelena and yes, French Open queen Sveta, you too!).

Of course, not all comebacks will have a storybook ending like Kimi winning the 2009 US Open (or might they) in just her third tournament back, but this returnee, Henin that is, is sure to have an impact on the women’s game. She cannot not – what with all that enviable organic talent she has and that backhand – oh that backhand shot, there was nothing on it, neither in the women’s game nor in the men’s game.