Justine Henin, the world's best backhand

This diminutive Belgian is seen as one of the world's best tennis players. Although she retired in 2011, she is still making news, not only through her various sporting commitments but also her social and educational initiatives (the Justine for Kids association).

From an early age, Justine was passionate about tennis. She met the coach Carlos Rodriguez as a teenager, and her career took off. At just 14 she won the under-14s world championship, the Orange Bowl and the under-14s European Championships. In 1998, she decided to focus fully on her passion for tennis and started to climb through the ranks.

In 2000, the girl from Rochefort came 8th in the US Open but her success really began in 2001. Indeed, Justine won the Fed Cup with the Belgian team as well as two tournaments in Australia. The same year, she reached the semi-final at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon final. Then the young Belgian champion made it into the world's top 10. In 2004, she picked up the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Athens.

Since her professional debut in 1999, Justine Henin has had 43 victories on the WTA circuit including 7 Grand Slams (4 Roland Garros, 2 US Open and 1 Australian Open), 2 Masters, 1 Fed Cup and one Olympic gold medal from Athens in 2004.

After a first retirement announced in 2008, Justine Henin returned to the court but in 2011, decided to quit high-level tennis for good. Today, Justine Henin is blossoming in other ways  and is using her fame to help others. Whether she is helping sick children in Belgium with her association "Justine for Kids" or promoting sport through the Club Justine Henin, this young Belgian is a credit to our country.

The former world number 1 tennis player, John McEnroe described Justine Henin's backhand as "the world's best backhand", men and women combined.

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