Justine Henin of Belgium reacts during her match against Sania Mirza of India at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne Jan 17, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Marriage break-up and retirement

* Began 2007 by missing the Australian Open to deal with the breakdown of her four-year marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne, but went on to win her third consecutive French Open in May with victory over Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

* Won grand slam title number seven with victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova for her second US Open trophy.

* Ended season by beating Maria Sharapova 5-7 7-5 6-3 in an epic final lasting three hours and 24 minutes to win her second consecutive WTA Championships.

* Started off the 2008 season with victory in Sydney but she was soundly beaten by Sharapova in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

* On May 14, 2008, still ranked number one in the world, Henin announced her retirement with immediate effect at a press conference. The timing of her retirement was totally unexpected since her favourite tournament, the French Open, was less than two weeks away and as the 2007 champion she would have been expected to defend her title.

* On Sept 22, 2009, she announced her return to competitive tennis after spending 16 months out of the sport.

Second coming

* Only weeks after her 2010 comeback Henin reached the Australian Open final where she lost to Serena Williams in three sets.

* She added two more tournament wins in Stuttgart and the Netherlands but fell before the quarter-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon.

* She damaged tendons in her right elbow at the grasscourt tournament which ruled her out for the rest of 2010.

* Returned to tennis again this year but bowed out in the third round of this year's Australian Open against Svetlana Kuznetsova and decided to quit tennis, for a second time, after doctors advised her to end her career due to her injured elbow.