Justine turns her back to the future

While the rise of power-packed players had contributed to the fall of former world number one Martina Hingis, Henin gave hope to smaller, lightly-framed players.

However, with the bombshell announcement on Wednesday that the 25-year-old Belgian was quitting the sport with immediate effect, Henin may turn out to be the last classical women’s player to have graced the sport.

“I have been driving my career based on an emotion but I didn’t feel that emotion anymore since (last year’s season-ending championships in) Madrid,” Henin, who won 41 singles and two doubles titles during her career, told a stunned news conference in Brussels.

Over the past decade, players such as Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, have revelled in capturing the headlines with their brute force on court as well as their colourful and daring fashion statements.

Henin climbed to the top of the sport by eschewing both practices. While many athletes embraced the cult of celebrity to widen their global appeal and bankability, the world number one adopted a no-nonsense approach throughout her decade-long professional career.

The loss of her mother Francoise 13 years ago and a subsequent estrangement from her father and siblings left her more thoughtful and driven than many her age.

She had promised Francoise during a trip to the 1992 Roland Garros final between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, that ‘one day I will win here’.

It took her 11 years to fulfil that vow.

The 1.67 metre tall Henin paired her unparalleled on-court elan with a mental fortitude to be feared and became the first Belgian to win a Grand Slam crown.

She went on to pick up seven slams in all, four of them in Paris. Despite twice contesting the Wimbledon final, the Rosewater Dish ended up being the only notable trophy missing from her impressive collection.

Never one to scream or grunt on court, Henin also had tennis purists drooling as she caressed the ball with her effortless style and unfurled...