Do we like them?

Do we like Justine Henin?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean record on harm and an honour from her sport, but a thin public record off court and one contested moment.

Justine Henin is the Belgian who went from a small-town junior to world No. 1 and a seven-time Grand Slam champion. She won the 2003 French Open, and her career ended in 2011 when she was 29. She says that exit was forced on her by her elbow rather than a choice she made.

Her best-known stoush is the 2003 French Open semifinal against Serena Williams. At 4-2 in the third set, Henin raised a hand to signal she wasn’t ready. Williams served into the net, the umpire didn’t see the gesture, Henin said nothing, and Williams lost the match. Williams, tearful and angry, accused her of “lying and fabricating”. Years later Henin said “you react on instinct” and called it “not one of the warmest moments”.

Rumours about doping also followed her for years. Henin firmly denied them, saying “I have never cheated”, and at her farewell press conference she asked journalists who had spread them to leave. That is her side of it; the article doesn’t name who started the rumours, and I found no finding against her.

On the harm test, there’s nothing to report. I found no campaigning against LGBTQ+ or trans people, no anti-vax or climate-denial material and no dodgy company in her own words or acts. That clean result partly reflects how little she has said on these topics, so it’s a pass on a thin record.

On the good side, the International Tennis Federation gave her its highest honour, the Philippe Chatrier Award, in July 2023. I couldn’t open pages on her charity work for sick children, so I’m leaving that out of the verdict. The record is solid but short on off-court detail.