Henin's shock retirement revives burnout debate

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Justine Henin appeared to have it all, ranked world number one and with the consistency and mental strength to dominate her sport for years to come.

On Wednesday, however, the Belgian abruptly announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25.

Her coach of 12 years, Carlos Rodriguez, told Reuters that Henin had simply lost the "fire that drove her to success."

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 defend her title.

Yet, like he compatriot Kim Clijsters who quit last year aged 23, Henin decided she had had enough.

Although Americans Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger provided the template for tennis burnout more than two decades ago, it seems that measures introduced by the sport's governors are still failing to protect the players' well-being.

Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova this week accused the ruling body of women's tennis (WTA) of being ignorant of the players' needs.

"Over the last few years all the players have been to numerous mandatory (WTA) meetings and sometimes you go back feeling you are talking about the same things and having the same issues and your voice is never being heard," the Russian said.