Sportmaster International

Henin would be favourite heading into this month’s French Open

The Belgian Tennis Federation said she would discuss her career and future at a news conference on Wednesday. Henin, 25, wrote on her website last week that she had been training without any problems and was injury free. The winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles recently talked at length about plans for her retirement, but would not specify when she planned to quit.

align=”right” /> One Flemish newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad, states that the Belgian will announce her immediate retirement from the game.The Vers l’Avenir newspaper group’s internet site said the Olympic champion plans to retire either now, after trying to defend her Roland Garros title this month, or even after the Beijing Olympics in August.But another newspaper, La Derniere Heure, suggested she would simply be taking time out for several months.The Belgian suffered a shock defeat by Russia’s Dinara Safina in the third round of the German Open last week. 606: DEBATE Am I the only person who is stunned by this news? martinsaaan Henin, who has won the last three French Opens, was playing only her second match following a month off with a knee injury and lost 5-7 6-3 6-1. She has also pulled out of this week’s Italian Open citing fatigue, with the WTA fining her £10,000 ($20,000) for late withdrawal.The women’s tour launched a multi-million dollar “Superhero” marketing campaign in Rome on Tuesday featuring all the top players - except Henin. “It cost a fortune and surely the sponsors would want the world number one involved if she was still intending to play,” said BBC Radio Five Live tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend.Speaking in Berlin just before the German Open, Henin revealed that she had been looking beyond her career in professional tennis.”I’m young in life, but starting to get old on the tour,” she said. “I’m growing up and I need different things.”Even physically I don’t recover as well as I did when I was 20. That’s normal.”Now I’ve been playing tennis for 20 years and it’s been my whole life but as a woman, as you get older, you need to think about the future.”Henin has been beaten four times in four months in 2008 including a comprehensive 6-2, 6-0 defeat by Serena Williams in Miami last month.