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Sports Briefs: Henin, 25, announces retirement from tennis, effective immediately
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Published: May 15, 2008
LIMELETTE, Belgium -- No. 1-ranked Justine Henin retired from tennis yesterday, abruptly ending a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles.
Henin, a 25-year-old Belgian, made the surprising announcement at a news conference, less than two weeks before the start of the French Open, a tournament she has won each of the past three years and four times overall.
"This is the end of a child's dream," Henin said. "This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious."
Henin won 10 tournaments last year but has been in one of the worst slumps of her career this season.
She lost last week in the third round of the German Open and pulled out of this week's Italian Open, citing fatigue.
"I thought long about this," said Henin, 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."
In 2006, Henin reached the final of every Grand Slam tournament. In 2007, she sat out the Australian Open in January while going through a divorce, then returned to the tour and won the French Open and U.S. Open.
In addition to her French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. She made nearly $20 million in career prize money and has been ranked No. 1 since Nov. 13, 2006, except for a seven-week period last year.
Horse racing
■ Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby winner, was installed as the 1-2 early favorite for Saturday's Preakness.
A field of 13 3-year-olds was entered yesterday, with Big Brown drawing the No. 7 post for the 1 3-16th-mile race at Pimlico.
Eleven winners have come from that post, the last being Silver Charm in 1997. Silver Charm also won the Kentucky Derby, but was outdueled in the stretch run of the Belmont by Touch Gold to lose his Triple Crown bid.
Big Brown is 4-0 in his career, having won by a combined total of more than 33 lengths. .
Gayego was made the 8-1 second choice and will break from the No. 12 post. He's the only Derby starter to take on Big Brown again. Gayego started in the second from the outside post in the Derby and finished 17th, beaten by 363/4 lengths.
Football
■ Sen. Arlen Specter said yesterday that an "objective investigation" of the New England Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals is necessary, adding "this one has not been objective."
Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, was unforgiving of his criticism of Commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that Goodell has made "ridiculous" assertions that wouldn't fly "in kindergarten."
Goodell essentially declared an end to the Spygate issue on Tuesday after a meeting with Matt Walsh, a former video assistant for the Patriots. Walsh gave the league tapes of coaches' signals made by the Patriots but offered no new significant revelations.
■ Curtis Whitley, who played center for three NFL teams in the 1990s and had a history of substance use, was found dead in his home in Fort Stockton, Texas.
Sheriff Cliff Harris of Pecos County said that Whitley, 39, was found face down in his bathroom Sunday night by friends who went to check on him after they had not heard from him. Harris said that there were no signs of foul play, but that the death remains under investigation.
Whitley played for the San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders from 1992 through 1997 and had two suspensions for violating the league's drug policy. He was a fifth-round draft pick out of Clemson in 1992.
■ Prosecutors in Miami say that a fifth person has been charged in the killing of Sean Taylor, a former safety for the Washington Redskins.
Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office, said yesterday that 16-year-old Timothy Brown is charged with first-degree murder. He is also charged with armed burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Taylor, 24, died after he was shot at his Miami-area home during a botched robbery in November.
■ Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who was kicked off the team at LSU after a series of rules violations, has told The Birmingham News that he will sign with Jacksonville State. He visited with Coach Jack Crowe and others at Jacksonville State on Tuesday and told The News that his only other visit was to Alabama A&M.
■ The Cleveland Browns have cut Kenny Wright, a reserve defensive back who was arrested last month on marijuana-possession charges in Texas.
Wright faces misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint, evading arrest and possession of marijuana.
■ The Saskatchewan Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the conviction of Trevis Smith, a former Canadian Football League player who knowingly exposed two women to HIV. Smith, who attended Alabama and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is serving a six-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault.
The ruling means that Smith will not be granted a new trial.
Recruiting
■ Justin Griffith, a 6-5 senior forward from Mount Tabor, has committed to play basketball at N.C. Wesleyan, Coach Andy Muse of Mount Tabor said.
Griffth played as a starter and reserve during Mount Tabor's run to the 4-A Western Regional last season and averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He played his first two seasons at North Davidson before transferring to Mount Tabor and scored more than 1,000 points in his four-year varsity career.
Miscellaneous
■ The U.S. men's soccer team plans to play its home games in the semifinals of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in Washington and in the suburbs of Chicago and Denver.
The U.S., which has a first-round bye, will meet Barbados in the second round, playing the total-goals series in Carson, Calif., on June 15 and in Barbados seven days later. If the U.S. advances, it would open the semifinals Aug. 20 at Guatemala or St. Lucia, then play at Cuba or Antigua and Barbuda on Sept. 6. The Americans' first home match would be Sept. 10 at Bridgeview, Ill., against Trinidad and Tobago or Bermuda.
The U.S. team would be home Oct. 11 in Washington against the Cuba-Antigua and Barbuda winner and at home Nov. 19 against Guatemala-St. Lucia at Commerce City, Colo.
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