[Chito]

Former No. 1 tennis player Justine Henin has no plans to come back


BRUSSELS — A year after her shock retirement, Justine Henin still feels the pain of competitive tennis every morning.

"I'm broken. If it is not the knee, it is the shoulder," she said.

On the other hand, every day offers the freedom to do what she wants, a release from the relentless pressure that ultimately drove her into retirement at 25 while still ranked No. 1.

Despite the chaotic state of women's tennis and the impending return of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, the message is simple: the seven-time Grand Slam champion is happily staying put in retirement with no plans of a comeback.

"It is truly a page that has been turned," Henin said Wednesday on the eve of the first anniversary of her announcement that she was quitting. "It was 20 years of my life. Now life is something different."

As a new UNICEF goodwill ambassador, she discussed the humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo with European Union Commissioner Louis Michel in his headquarters overlooking the Belgian capital.

Her humanitarian work is a strong commitment now, but she also throws herself into projects she never had time for previously.

On Thursday, she will star in the "12 works of Justine Henin" on Belgian television, where she will be seen training with favourite football team Anderlecht, strutting the catwalk and even cooking. Later, she will host a music show.

"I have been living in this bubble for all these years and then you fall back into real life," she said in an interview with two reporters.

That struck home last January when, in her UNICEF role, she visited eastern Congo, once a Belgian colony and one of the world's worst killing grounds over the past dozen years.

Atrocities continue, with women and children often the main victims. For once, Henin was an unknown face among UNICEF officials on a fact-finding mission.

"They didn't know who I was, so it had no impact on the contacts I had. That was great, because that was always a given in my life. When you are a public figure, there is always something awkward," she said.

Henin may be little-known in Africa, but Commissioner Michel knows her face draws more attention in the rest of the world than his ever will.

"Her contribution is a great antidote against selfishness," he said. "When Justine Henin is a witness to all this, it is clear she has a much bigger impact on public opinion than I could have."

Henin will centre her UNICEF work now on vaccination campaigns for children.

It leaves the dust of her beloved clay courts as a distant memory.

Asked who will win the French Open, where she is four-time champion, Henin returns a blank stare.

"I haven't really followed tennis anymore," she said.

Henin recently picked up a racket again to hit some balls with longtime coach Carlos Rodriguez. Just to make sure it could not be misconstrued as the start of a return to competitive tennis, she said, "I hasten to add, just to improve my condition and stay healthy."


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