The moment Justine Henin realised her tennis career wasn't finished came this past June, when the Belgian watched Roger Federer finally win the French Open, the one Grand Slam title he was missing.

His triumph reignited a passion that had been dormant inside her. At her central Florida training site on Saturday, Henin said she wouldn’t be returning to tennis if she didn't believe she could win Wimbledon and complete her own career Grand Slam — as soon as next year. “I started to say, ‘Well, I missed Wimbledon,’” Henin said. “That moment was something, I don’t know, something came over me. It’s a dream. I don’t know if it will come true, but I like to dream.”

Her return to tennis has come as fast as her departure. Henin rocked the tennis world by suddenly, stunningly walking away in May 2008, becoming the first woman to retire while ranked No 1. Henin said she stopped playing because she needed to realise she could do more than just play tennis. “I retired because I was tired. I’m returning because it’s the passion that I give to what I do again. It’s the fact that I can push my limits, and that I can give people a dream. The relationship with the people — that’s what I missed the most.”

Plenty of time

Henin and her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said her game is about 60 per cent of what it was, but feel she has plenty of time to train. One thing that Henin said has “nothing to do” with her return is Kim Clijsters. Rodriguez, however, said it gave Henin a reason to believe she can return to top form.

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