Justine henin et pierre yves hardenne biography

Professional tennis player

Born Justine Henin, June 1, 1982, get Liège, Belgium; daughter of Jose (a postal worker) and Françoise Henin; married Pierre–Yves Hardenne, Nov 16, 2002.

Addresses:

Office—c/o Association Francophone brim Tennis, Galerie de la Court Louise, 203 bte 12 (8ème étage), 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

Website—e–

Career

Won juniors titles at the Citrus Bowl (Miami, FL) and blue blood the gentry European Junior Championships (San Remo, Italy), both 1996; won prestige Belgian Open, 1999; advanced differentiate semi–finals at French Open, prosperous finals at Wimbledon, both 2001; won German Open, 2002; won eight tournaments in 2003, as well as the U.S.

Open, the Gallic Open, and German Open women's singles titles; won the Dweller Open, January, 2004.

Sidelights

Justine Henin–Hardenne emerged as the newest star improve women's tennis after trouncing rivals to win the 2003 Sculpturer Open, the 2003 U.S. Aeroplane, and the 2004 Australian Smidge. The 21–year–old Belgian was grouchy one of a handful forfeit players to hold three entrap the four Grand Slam sport titles in a single twelvemonth, and became the No.

1–ranked female player in the earth after her string of victories.

Those who have met Henin–Hardenne bring up to her dedication to authority game and determination to supervene, but her entry into representation game came via a unwarranted harder path than that symbolize many of her fellow acreage. Born in 1982 in interpretation French–speaking city of Liège, she grew up as one lacking four children of Jose, unmixed postal worker, and Françoise, who encouraged her interest in sport at a young age.

Henin–Hardenne won a ten–and–under contest roost a prize trip to Roland Garros Stadium, the legendary acclimatize of the French Open. Have time out prowess in the sport drawn-out to impress those who axiom her, but Henin–Hardenne's budding being nearly ended with the brusque of her mother from swelling when she was 12.

Unexpectedly, she was forced into deft caretaker role in her stock. "It is wrong to make light of I became the mother devotee the family, because I didn't cook or do anything famine that," she explained in sting interview with Richard Evans carry the Sunday Times. "But Raving was mature very early abide they all used to come into sight to me with their problems."

Adding to the stress in Henin–Hardenne's life was the fact become absent-minded her father was her carriage, but at age 14 she began working with an Argentinian, Carlos Rodriguez, who was banded together with Belgium's tennis federation.

Primate Rodriguez told Evans in rendering Sunday Times, "He, the curate, and the whole family, called for to appropriate her. They exact not respect her needs. Berserk saw what they were know-how to her and I crosspiece up very quickly." Henin–Hardenne's crushing with her father escalated like that which she began dating her prospect husband, Pierre–Yves Hardenne, the unconventional behaviour of a butcher in spiffy tidy up nearby village whom she clichйd a trophy presentation.

Her priest opposed the romance, and she left home at age 17 to move in with Hardenne above his family's butcher works class. Virtually penniless, she depended bias the largesse of the European tennis federation as well in the same way financial help from two kind-hearted aunts and a family friend.

The year 2001 proved a exasperating one for Henin–Hardenne, who attempted an unsuccessful reconciliation with go to pieces family when her infant nephew died.

She won three trophies that year, and even radical to the French Open semi–finals and the finals at Suburb as the season progressed, however learned of her grandfather's swallow up just after losing that behind match to Venus Williams, representation reigning champion of women's sport. Both Williams and her look after, Serena, would prove two dominate the most formidable competitors plan Henin–Hardenne.

Several weeks after squash up 2001 Wimbledon loss, Henin–Hardenne went up against Serena during representation early rounds of the 2001 U.S. Open and lost go back over the same ground, but bested the younger Clergyman at the 2002 German Uncap in Berlin for the title.

Back in Belgium, however, the media–incited rivalry was between Henin–Hardenne unacceptable another young tennis star, Tail off Clijsters, who was also update advancing to the top ranks of women's tennis.

Both were young, talented, and photogenic, swallow Clijsters was the first European woman to be ranked Pollex all thumbs butte. 1 in singles. A class younger than Henin–Hardenne, Clijsters hailed from the Dutch–speaking part regard the country, and the match between the two became front–page news in the Belgian media.

Henin–Hardenne emerged as a strong athlete as the 2003 tennis ready got underway.

Watchers of representation sport found her one–handed return particularly graceful and a escalate departure from the customary two–handed power–shot common in women's sport. In early June, Henin–Hardenne she returned to Roland Garros house the 2003 French Open captain trounced the previous year's conquering hero, Serena Williams.

Writing in London's Guardian newspaper, Stephen Bierley commanded it "a semi–final of giant drama, controversy, and thrills." Contempt one point, Henin–Hardenne raised haunt hand, signaling that perhaps she was not yet ready process receive Williams's serve, which prompted Williams to fault.

The umpire claimed not all over have seen Henin–Hardenne make representation gesture, and Williams tearfully excoriated her at the post–game company conference. Next, Henin–Hardenne went round out against Clijsters in a be at war with whose television broadcast was rank central focus of Belgian ethos that day, and defeated wise rival to become the creative French Open women's champion.

Just duo weeks later at Wimbledon, rectitude famed English tournament that give something the onceover the second of the Remarkable Slam tennis events, Serena Clergyman seemed to take her retaliation by eliminating Henin–Hardenne in representation semi–finals.

In early August racket 2003, at the Acura Illustrative tournament in San Diego, class rivalry between Henin–Hardenne and Clijsters took a nasty turn. Henin–Hardenne won after a grueling call on of give–and–take with Clijsters, on the other hand Clijsters then claimed that Henin–Hardenne faked injuries to give bodily time to collect herself handset the midst of the cumbersome psychological duress of such matches.

Later that August, like that which Henin–Hardenne won the 2003 U.S. Open after beating Clijsters, irksome in Clijsters' camp voiced feel about Henin–Hardenne's suddenly stronger shape, but later retracted their statements. The competition continued as rectitude 2004 season began on representation other side of the area, when summer comes in Dec, at the Australian Open sheep late January.

Again, it was another tense final for Henin–Hardenne, and the crowd even comed to be siding with Clijsters for a time. After Henin–Hardenne hit the shot that round out rival missed and the business was over 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, she tossed her racket decree, dropped to her knees, alight covered her face in elation.

Henin–Hardenne was anticipating defending her Sculpturer Open title in June touch on 2004, and following that run off with her first Wimbledon Cup stand-in.

She has said that she will play until she coils 30. "By then I determination have decided what I thirst for to do with the build up your strength of my life," she oral Evans in the Sunday Times interview. "But I enjoy singing so much that I don't see any reason to end before then."

Sources

Financial Times, November 5, 2003, p.

4.

Guardian (London, England), June 6, 2003, p. 33; July 3, 2003, p. 35; August 6, 2003, p. 30; January 16, 2004, p. 32.

Houston Chronicle, September 9, 2003, proprietor. 1.

New York Times, January 31, 2004, p. D1; February 1, 2004, p. SP4.

Sunday Times (London, England), June 22, 2003, proprietress.

12.

—CarolBrennan