Henin didn’t always inspire admiration among her competitors. There was the infamous French Open match against Serena Williams in 2003, when Williams accused Henin of “lying and fabricating” about whether she’d held up a hand to stop play. And Mauresmo wasn’t pleased that Henin quit against her in the second set of the 2006 Australian Open final, citing an upset stomach from pain medicine.

This much is undeniable: Henin knew how to wield a racket.

She was ranked No. 1 for more than 100 weeks, won 41 singles titles, a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and earned nearly $20 million in prize money. When she eliminated Serena, then Venus, at last year’s U.S. Open, Henin became the first woman to beat both sisters en route to a major title.

“Pound for pound, Justine is the greatest player of her generation,” said Billie Jean King, who won 12 major singles titles.

“Justine is an extraordinary player and a special person,” King said, “and a true champion — both in tennis and in life.”

Now that she is done with the former, Henin can focus wholeheartedly on the latter.

And what of the possibility of returning? She’d hardly be the first athlete to come out of retirement.

Henin rebuffed that Wednesday.

“When I decide something, I do it the right way,” she said. Seconds later, she added: “Last year was the best French Open that I could dream of for the last one — with my family back, with my family in the stands. That was awesome. That was a great feeling. And I’m going to keep this feeling forever now.”

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