Born in Liège on 1 June 1982, Justine was immersed in the world of sport from the word go and first ventured onto a tennis court in Rochefort at age 5.
At 14, she was taken under the wing of coach Carlos Rodríguez, with whom she enjoyed the finest moments of her prolific career. In 1996, she won the Junior World Championship for under 14 years of age and, the following year, she clinched her first trophy in the Juniors event at Roland-Garros and broke into the WTA rankings.
Throughout her tennis career, Justine garnered 43 victories on the WTA circuit, including seven Grand Slams (Roland-Garros four times, two US Opens and one Australian Open), two Masters, one Fed Cup and one Olympic gold medal, at Athens in 2004. John McEnroe described her backhand as “the best in the world”. All in all, Justine spent an incredible 117 weeks in the World Number One spot.
These days, Justine has a burgeoning new business career, but still maintains a strong foothold in the tennis world. A major influence on young players through her Club Justine Henin and her academy, she is constantly passing on her knowledge and sharing her experience. She is also busy with her charity Justine For Kids and the numerous activities she carries out in conjunction with UNICEF.