Wed May 14 10:51:41 2008

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World No. 1 Justine Henin retires from tennis

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Brussels, Belgium (Sports Network) - Top-ranked Belgian star Justine Henin has decided to retire from professional tennis, effective immediately.

Henin held a Wednesday afternoon news conference to announce her decision. She is the second Belgian stalwart to retire over the last two seasons, as her former rival Kim Clijsters quit the WTA Tour last year in order to start a family.

The 25-year-old Henin, who will turn 26 on June 1, went 16-4 this year, including a third-round exit in Berlin last week. She withdrew from this week's Italian Open, citing fatigue, something that has forced her out of several events over the past several years.

A four-time French Open champion, Henin captured seven Grand Slam titles among her 41 overall career titles. She first rose to No. 1 on October 20, 2003, and this week marked her 61st consecutive one at the top of the rankings and 117th overall.

The winner of the last three championships at Roland Garros, Henin had two titles this year -- in Sydney and Antwerp. She was ousted by Russian superstar Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of 2008.

Henin led the tour with 10 titles last year, including ones at the French and U.S. Opens.

Her stunning announcement comes less than two weeks before the start of the 2008 French Open, where she'd won her last 21 matches.