Henin stuns tennis by announcing retirement

(CNN) -- World number one Justine Henin is quitting professional tennis with immediate effect, she told a press conference in Belgium on Wednesday.

"I have decided to put an end to my tennis-playing career," she said, confirming earlier reports in the Belgian press that she was bowing out while still at the top of the world rankings.

"This is the end of a child's dream. This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious," she added.

"It is a new beginning for me. I feel like I already lived three lives. I gave the sport all I could and took everything it could give me," she added. "I take this decision without the least bit of regrets. It is my life as a woman that starts now.

"I thought long about this," Henin said, her voice cracking and eyes watering. "I started thinking about it late last year. I was at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high."

Henin, who is 26 on June 1, has headed the official WTA rankings for 117 consecutive weeks. She has won seven grand slams and was due to defend her French Open title later this month.

But she withdrew from this week's big clay court tournament in Rome, citing fatigue, only a day after being upset by Russian Dinara Safina in the third round of the German Open.

Her previous appearance on WTA Tour came in the first week of April when she was thrashed 6-2 6-0 by Serena Williams in the Miami quarterfinals

Henin was the dominant player in the women's game last year, winning 10 of 14 tournaments, including two grand grand slams and became the first player in history to win more than $5 million in a season.

She began 2008 with a fine victory in the Sydney International, but a quarterfinal defeat to eventual winner Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open signaled the start of a difficult season which has also been blighted by injury.

Her retirement comes a year after her great Belgian rival Kim Clijsters quit competitive tennis to get married and become a mother.

Henin has reached the top despite a troubled personal life -- her mother died in 1995, her father did not speak to her for eight years and she divorced in 2007.

She has won all the grand slams except Wimbledon and took Olympic gold in Athens in 2004.

In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. The only Grand Slam title to elude her was Wimbledon, where she was the runner-up in 2001 and 2006.

"Winning Wimbledon would not make me happier than I am," she said. "I could never dream of Wimbledon. It was destiny. I didn't feel myself capable. It was too much for me."

Henin, who earned nearly $20 million in career prize money, has been ranked No. 1 since November 13, 2006, except for a seven-week period last year when Sharapova held the top spot.

Tributes poured in for the Belgian, with Venus Williams -- currently playing at the Italian Open -- saying: "Justine was a great opponent. She always challenged herself to play her best tennis no matter what the circumstances."

Sister Serena added: "She was a great champion and she gave me a world of trouble, so I hope the best for her. She had a great year last year. Gosh, what can you say about such a champion? I don't think we have enough time."

Ana Ivanovic, one of the women vying for Henin's No.1 position said: "She was a great player and achieved so much. She brought a lot to the women's game. I'm sorry to hear this, but it's her own feeling and her own decision."

WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said: "Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women's tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none.

"It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her own rules, in the very best sense of those words."

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