Word: henins
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...sports fans, there's nothing more disappointing than to see a career end before we want it to. This week, the world learned that two soon would. Belgian tennis player Justine Henin and Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam both announced their retirements. Sorenstam, a career Grand Slam winner, is 37. Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and current world No. 1, is 25. Neither plays a sport in which youth is at a premium. So it is difficult not to feel cheated: we will never again see Henin's spry figure unleashing shots with such a variety of spins that...
...Henin and Sorenstam, an athlete's career is in many ways no different from any other. "I have a lot of dreams, I want to live and I'm getting married," Sorenstam said. Henin echoed: "This is the end of a child's dream ... It is my life as a woman that starts now." The world has always admired northern European countries for their work-life balance, so we can hardly begrudge a famous Swede for saying she wants to start a family, or the planet's best-known Belgian for simply craving a rest...
...although superficially at the top of her game, Henin was struggling to rekindle her drive. "I started thinking about it late last year," she said. "I was at the end of the road...
...Wednesday, Belgians appeared stunned by Henin's decision: for all her reserve, she is a national icon. The move also comes just a year after Clijsters retired, age just 23; she has since married and become a mother...
...Henin, who reconciled herself with her family last year, had often talked of life beyond tennis, saying she'd like more time to study, travel and generally escape from the pressures of the game...