Justine Henin-Hardenne was coming off of one of the most successful seasons of her career, reaching the finals of all four majors, winning her third Roland Garros crown, winning the year-end championships, and securing her place atop the world rankings. That made her unexpected announcement that she was canceling her entire Australian campaign due to “personal reasons” all the more unforeseeable for anyone in the tennis community.
Speculation that her marriage was unraveling was rife in the days following the announcement, and now the Belgian has announced her separation from her husband of four years, Pierre-Yves, on her official website.
“As I promised you, I return with some news. The last few weeks were difficult for me and my team. First I must announce to you that Pierre-Yves and I have decided to separate; the reasons are personal. I request of you to respect my privacy.”
Estranged from her father and siblings, Pierre Yves Hardenne and Carlos Rodriquez, her coach of many years, had formed a new family for the Belgian.
But despite the setback, Henin-Hardenne can still rely on the undying support of her fans.
“I want to particularly thank you for the great many messages of support sent during these last few weeks - it really touched me,” she said.
”On the tennis side of things, I have begun training again. I also have slightly altered my schedule. I will play at the Open Gaz De France in early February. It's not far from my home, and it's always pleasant for me to be in Paris. This will be my first tournament for the season. I hope to find my form, and as usual will give all of myself. I'm looking forward to once again giving you exciting emotions. Still thanking you for all the support.”
Having surrendered her No. 1 ranking to Russian Maria Sharapova, she also appears to be relinquishing the hyphen in her name – her website address has changed from henin-hardenne.be to justine-henin.be.