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With her 5-foot-5¾, 126-pound frame, she had to figure out how to deal with foes who could hit the ball harder. With a superb one-handed backhand, amazing speed and grit, she rose to the top of the sport.

"She always challenged herself to play her best tennis no matter what the circumstances. She was just a real fighter, so I think that was really what made her best," Venus Williams said.

"Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women's tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none," WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said. "It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her own rules, in the very best sense of those words."

Henin was away from the tour for months at a time in 2004 and 2005 because of an energy-sapping blood virus and assorted injuries, including to her knee and back. In early 2007, she divorced from Pierre-Yves Hardenne and dropped his last name.

Throughout last season, Henin said she had finally found a balance in her life between personal self-fulfillment and doggedly pursuing tennis titles.

Now it appears that changed. Perhaps she took note when Kim Clijsters — another Belgian who was ranked No. 1 and won a Grand Slam title — retired at 23 last year. Clijsters has since married and become a mother.

Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, her brown hair in a ponytail, Henin spoke in French for nine minutes before taking questions Wednesday. She never lost her composure and held the microphone firmly.

The news conference was at the Justine N1 academy in a village about 20 miles outside of Brussels. It has a smattering of her beloved clay courts, where she wants to train and coach youngsters.

Family and children may come, but for now, and for once, there is no rush.

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