Henin believes consistency needed from WTA Tour, brings 'stable environment' to help performance: "We need a leader and some good rivalries"

Former number one player Justine Henin talked about the landscape of the WTA Tour leading into the first major of the year - Australian Open.

Henin has been a dominant force in tennis in her prime but she's not seeing it as much lately. The dominance of Swiatek last year emerged out of nowhere and she talked about what happened for things to unfold that way.

Henin said:

"Things have changed in terms of consistency. Society is changing too. There are new generations and things to deal with. I am very happy I didn’t have to play in the time of social media, which takes a lot of time and energy. That feeling that you have to be in communication all the time. It is a choice, but it still takes time."

Read also

"I'd love to meet her on Tour again because she was very kind to me when I was a much less experienced player" - Swiatek on Osaka pregnancy announcement

She then turned her attention to Swiatek who has been quite dominant:

She has been so dominant, winning two Slams last year. But it will be a little bit more difficult for her in the second half of the season with a lot of points to defend. There will be more questions for her this season with how she can deal with pressure with a lot of points to defend. She won two Slams last year and the last one in New York and proved she is the best player in the world, including on hard courts. But the women’s game is quite open, especially at the beginning of the season."

Henin concluded with:

"She has to bring the confidence and experience she won last year. She gave us the impression that she has everything to be our new leader, which is fantastic. Others will have opportunities, and many girls will have to do everything they can to take these opportunities."

Read also

Norrie left close to tears after losing Gasquet final at ASB Classic in home city: "That one hurts, I wanted that one really bad"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate tennis experience—subscribe today for exclusive access to top stories.

Subscribe