Justine Henin, why are you retiring too soon?

Yeah, I saw it from the Forum of her Official Site which i daily frequent. I am sad that she is retiring. I will surely miss my favorite female tennis player and her ALLEZ on the court. She is a such a joy to watch. I am lost for words how to describe her. She is just great! For one so petite, she has a giant spirit. Her personal struggles have inspired a lot of people. She is still #1 in the current WTA ranking and the next is a stretch away and may need a Grand Slam to topple her position (that is, if WTA will not erase her in the ranking right away). For sure, her early retirement is a loss to the WTA tour.

A lot of her fans are asking, “Why Justine Henin are you retiring too soon?”. She has her reasons. I am shocked by the news but I respect her decision and will be happy if she is happy with it. She deserves to enjoy all the things that she has achieved and earned, to have the time for herself and to live the life like the rest of us, although, hers would be more opulent ; to pursue her other dreams.

From Justine’s post-retirement interview:

“I think I will take long, real vacation,” she said. “I’m going to appreciate going for a run with nothing at stake, just doing it for pleasure. I’ve never put my feet in skis and next year I think I’ll be doing it the whole winter. I want to rediscover the small pleasures, not look at my watch all the time, because I have to get to training the next day. I want to stay in shape but I want to spend time with the people I love, drive my nephews and nieces to activities, have time.”

I think she has worked so hard and that whatever peace and rest that she longs after all the years on tour, from debilitating disease, injuries, being estranged from her family and having her mom taken away at an early age is a much deserved. She has given so much joy to the people by her tennis poetry. I missed her already.

Her Official Site is now heavy with outpouring of feelings from her fans world-wide. It is not surprising that emotions are triggered by her sudden retirement. Words of admiration and support and well-wishes are all written in her Guestbook. What fan base she has, and so touching, sincere and heart-rending are their messages! I still haven’t given my piece. I am still tongue-tied at the moment.

All I can say for now is that I will no longer have the reason to go home early or to wake up in the wee hours of the morning just to watch a tennis match.

Related stories:

The Frail Figure with an Indomitable Will

Henin Quits On Top

Henin Announces Shock Retirement

Henin Retires From Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Justine Henin A Look Back

Henin’s Rivals Pay Tribute to a ‘Great Champion’

WTA Backspin blog on JH retirement by Stood Spinner

Readers Respond: Placing Henin in History

Fan Farewell to Justine Henin

She retires at the Top. And I would like to imprint her ranking as against the next number 1 to be forever remembered. Her ranking will be erased this coming May 19, 2007.  She retired with 1709points gap to the next ranked player.

allan’s summer mishap

There was a heavy downpour yesterday and so the ground was soaked with rain water that made it muddy and slippery. When Allan, my nephew, went to get one of the sneaky goats he is tasked to pasture and to watch over, he slipped. To protect his head from the fall, he had to use his arm to lessen what could have been a more serious accident. It was good that my brother was nearby and heard Allan’s scream and cry for help. He immediately went to his son and there saw him lying on the ground in pain and holding up his left arm. Seeing Allan white-faced and suffering in pain, my brother did not hesitate to rush him to the nearest orthopedic hospital which is around 45km from our place.

Late last night, we saw Allan with a cast and a sling. The doctor cemented his left forearm due to a fractured radius and ulna. Allan is one restless 12-year old who never runs out of things to do or places to go. He plays basketball and table tennis. He also has very good artistic hands which he uses to draw and to play his favorite computer games.

It is summer vacation and you know what summer is to young people. It’s a time out of school and therefore, a time to play and just have fun not doing school works. To make it worst, he is left-handed. Poor kid, just this morning his Mom saw him in tears. What a summer fate?

Now, why am I writing about this? It is because I know the feeling. Believe me. Almost 9 years ago, I was in a sling also. I fractured my right wrist and need I say I am right-handed!!! I was so dispirited then, I recall writing the following entry in my journal during those period of suffering. Here it goes:

December 19, 1999, Sunday

It’s 3:26 pm. Well that’s according to Ate Cecile’s clock. Am alone and nursing a fractured wrist; had an accident last November 26, 1999, Thursday morning during our Sports Fest. I am typing this entry single-handedly using my left hand. It’s a lesson on patience why it happened, that’s what friends at the dorm say. I just have to agree, i.e. to accept my fate positively, otherwise I’ll end up cussing why this accident should happen when I need able hands to prepare for my thesis proposal. Admittedly, i am impatient and most of the time can’s stay still. This accident is teaching me a lot. Although moving and doing my usual activities is really an ordeal, I found out that using only one and my left hand is a challenge I would never miss. I am not happy with the situation but I found triumph and bits of happiness accomplishing things I could never imagine doing using my left hand. I feel a sense of achievement every time I have done things which seem imaginably hard to do lefty. Its difficult doing the usual works but I am grudgingly happy also I am coping.

I have fears and oftentimes I feel pains. You see, Dr. Allen Llanos, my orthopedic doctor had drilled a metal pin. Every time it is cold, the pain is there. Mommy has not seen me yet with an arm sling and I don’t really want her to see me like this. I hope this coming Tuesday, December 21, when my doctor extract the pin, the cement will not be there anymore so that I can go home without the sling and the cast during the Christmas break. My fears now are not having my right arm with it’s usual agility; its deformity as it appears now may be permanent, my not having to play and do the usual works with dexterity is another. …

I am cutting the melodramatic part, hehehe. Reading it now makes me laugh. It seems petty I have to feel that way then.The accident did make me lie low a little on Badminton. I don’t play it as competitively as before. I replaced it with more sedate table tennis which I truly enjoy now. I am proud to say though, that i learned table tennis using my left hand first before my right hand (because it was in a cast then; there you see my evident restlessness, i didn’t wait to see how my right hand would fare, i need to start learning to play using my left right away). And that my left hand can use chop sticks because of the accident also. See what accident can do sometimes?

Now, I can only console Allan. He is young and of course will recover. Who knows, he might discover he is ambidextrous.