1996 - Played first event of career on ITF Circuit in Spain, reaching 2r.
1997 - Won first two ITF Circuit singles titles, at $10K ITF/Le Touquet-FRA and $10K ITF/Koksijde-BEL.
1998 - Won three more ITF Circuit singles titles, at $10K ITF/Gelos-FRA, $25K ITF/Grenelefe, FL-USA and $25K ITF/Ramat Hasharon-ISR (d. Clijsters en route); also won first ITF Circuit doubles title at $25K ITF/Ramat Hasharon-ISR (w/Clijsters); began season unranked but finished No.226.
1999 - Turned pro on January 1; in Antwerp, was fifth of now six players to win first Tour event (as No.178 WC, d. top seed Pitkowski 62 61 in final); reached QF at Luxembourg and Québec City and 2r at
Roland Garros (qualified for Grand Slam main draw debut; l. to Davenport 63 26 75) and Philadelphia (d. No.12 Kournikova in 1r for first Top 20 win); fell 1r twice, incl.
US Open (l. to Mauresmo); helped Belgium reach Fed Cup SF; won one more ITF Circuit singles title at $25K ITF/Reims-FRA (d. Clijsters in final).
2000 - Made Grand Slam 4r debut at
US Open (l. to Davenport; made Top 50 debut afterwards; QF at Hobart, Palermo and Bratislava; 2r eight times, incl.
Australian Open (l. to Hingis) and Montréal (l. to Davenport); fell 1r at
Wimbledon (l. to Sánchez-Vicario); withdrew from Antwerp and
Roland Garros w/arm injury and from Québec City w/metatarsalgia in right foot (suffered in Filderstadt); won seventh ITF Circuit singles title at $50K ITF/Liège-BEL, and second ITF Circuit doubles title at $75K ITF/Cergy Pontoise-FRA (w/Razzano).
2001 - Breakthrough season, cracking Top 20 and Top 10; won first three Tour singles titles at Gold Coast, Canberra and 's-Hertogenbosch (d. Clijsters in final); excellent showings at all four majors, reaching first Grand Slam SF at
Roland Garros (l. to Clijsters 26 75 63 having led 62 42) and weeks later first Grand Slam final at
Wimbledon (snapped Capriati's 19-match Grand Slam streak in SF; l. to V.Williams in final), also reached 4r at
Australian Open (l. to Seles 46 64 64, having led 4-2 in second and third sets) and
US Open (l. to S.Williams); other highlights incl. runner-up finishes at Hawaii and Filderstadt and SF at Estoril and Berlin (d. V.Williams en route; ret. vs. Capriati w/ankle injury); made Tour Championships debut (l. in QF to S.Williams); began season ranked No.45 and finished at No.7.
2002 - Second straight Top 10 season, finishing at No.5 after briefly rising to No.4 in fall; won two more Tour singles titles, at Berlin (first Tier I singles title; d. Capriati in SF and S.Williams in final - one of only four players to beat S.Williams in 2002) and Linz (d. Stevenson in final); runner-up four times, at Gold Coast, Antwerp, Amelia Island (all to V.Williams) and Rome (d. Clijsters in SF; l. to S.Williams); SF four times, incl.
Wimbledon (d. Seles in QF; l. to V.Williams); six QF, incl.
Australian Open and Tour Championships (l. to Clijsters at both); in other two majors, fell 1r at
Roland Garros (considered a favorite heading in, fell to qualifier Kapros suffering from bronchitis and flu) and reached 4r at
US Open (l. to Hantuchova 76 third set); won lone two Tour doubles titles to date at Gold Coast (w/Shaughnessy) and Zürich (w/Bovina).
2003 - First year-end No.1 finish after winning 75 matches, eight titles and $3,667,430 (second to Clijsters in all three); SF or better in 18 of 19 events played (exception was QF finish at Miami); won first two Grand Slam titles of career at
Roland Garros (d. S.Williams 62 46 75 in SF, having trailed 4-2 third set; d. Clijsters in final) and
US Open (d. Capriati 46 75 76(4) in SF where she was 10 times two points from loss, down 5-3 in second set and 5-2 in third set; 19 hours later, d. Clijsters in final); other six titles came at Dubai (d. Capriati 75 46 64 in SF and Seles 46 76(4) 75 in final, saving mp down 5-4 second set) and Tier Is at Charleston (d. S.Williams in final), Berlin (d. Clijsters 64 46 75 in final, saving 3mp down 5-4 third set), San Diego (d. Clijsters in final), Toronto and Zürich; runner-up three times, at 's-Hertogenbosch (ret. vs. Clijsters w/left wrist and finger sprain), Leipzig (l. to Myskina, ending season-best 22-match win streak) and Filderstadt (l. to Clijsters); SF six times, incl.
Australian Open (d. Davenport 75 57 97 in 4r, overcoming 4-1 third set deficit and cramps to beat the American for first time in six meetings; l. to V.Williams),
Wimbledon (l. to S.Williams) and Tour Championships (l. to Mauresmo); fell to Rubin in Miami QF; began year at No.5, moved to No. 4 after
Australian Open, to No.3 after
Roland Garros, to No.2 after
US Open and finally No.1 after winning Zürich (October 20).
2004 - Historic start to season marred by illness; began year winning Sydney (d. Mauresmo in final) and
Australian Open (became ninth woman to hold three majors at once; d. Clijsters in final); withdrew from Antwerp w/respiratory illness; then won Dubai (d. Kuznetsova in final); at Doha, 16-match win streak snapped in SF to Kuznetsova, her first loss of season; won Indian Wells (d. Davenport in final); with 7626 points on March 22 owns highest points total in history of rankings; took Tier I win streak to 25 matches and five titles, dating back to 2003 Charleston; at Amelia Island, lost in SF to Mauresmo 67(4) 75 63 having led 5-2 second set (stated she felt weak during loss); withdrew from Charleston w/hypoglycemia and from Berlin and Rome w/cytomegalovirus; attempted to defend
Roland Garros title but lost 2r (l. to No.86 Garbin; only second time in 15 Grand Slams at the time Henin lost before 4r; at the time, earliest exit for
Roland Garros defending champion since Sánchez-Vicario in 1990 and for a No.1 seed at
Roland Garros since seedings introduced in 1925); withdrew from 's-Hertogenbosch and
Wimbledon to recover from condition; still suffering from cytomegalovirus, withdrew from San Diego and Montréal; played for first time since May at Olympics (d. Mauresmo in final for gold medal); at
US Open, upset in 4r by Petrova, first time in 22 years that top seed has lost before SF, and on September 13 rankings dropped to No.4, ending 45-week reign at No.1; withdrew from Filderstadt, Zürich and Tour Championships w/cytomegalovirus.
2005 - Incredible return to Tour in spring following illness-plagued 2004 and injury-plagued beginning of 2005, highlighted by perfect clay court season, including
Roland Garros title; after withdrawing from Sydney,
Australian Open, Doha and Dubai w/right knee injury suffered in practice in December, made season debut (after seven-month lay-off) in March at Miami, reaching QF (l. to Sharapova in 3s, having trailed 61 41, saving mp in second set); then went on incredible 24-match streak (Tour-best in 2005) in clay court season, winning four titles, at Charleston (d. Dementieva in final), Warsaw (d. Kuznetsova in final), Berlin (d. Petrova in final) and
Roland Garros (saved 2mp in third set of 76(6) 46 75 win over Kuznetsova in 4r then d. Pierce in final); was second
Roland Garros champion in Open Era to save mp en route (after Myskina, who saved mp vs. Kuznetsova in 4r in 2004); only fourth woman to have unbeaten run on clay that ended in
Roland Garros title, after Evert (1974-75), Graf (1987), Seles (1990); afterwards, returned to Top 10 (at No.7), first time since January; after withdrawing from Eastbourne w/right hamstring strain, became first reigning
Roland Garros winner to lose 1r at
Wimbledon (to Daniilidou); on July 25, returned to Top 5 (at No.5) for first time since October 2004; after withdrawing from San Diego w/right hamstring injury, made summer hardcourt debut at Toronto (l. to Clijsters in final); at
US Open, l. in 4r to Pierce; after withdrawing from Luxembourg w/right hamstring strain, played only match of fall at Filderstadt (l. opener to Pennetta), then withdrew from Zürich, Linz and Tour Championships w/right hamstring strain; ended season ranked No.6, her fifth consecutive Top 10 finish.
2006 - Second year-end No.1 finish; won second straight
Roland Garros title (d. Clijsters in SF and Kuznetsova in final to become first player to win without dropping a set since Sánchez-Vicario in 1994); qualified for Tour Championships (No.1 in Race) and won title (went 2-1 in RR - l. to Mauresmo; d. Sharapova in SF to secure return to No.1 then d. Mauresmo in final); on November 13 year-end rankings rose from No.3 to No.1, her first time on top since 2004
US Open fortnight; runner-up at
Australian Open (d. Davenport and Sharapova en route to final, then ret. vs. Mauresmo w/gastrointestinal illness trailing 61 20, only second time in Open Era a player has ret. in a major final),
Wimbledon (d. Clijsters in SF; l. to Mauresmo 26 63 64 in final) and
US Open (d. Jankovic 46 64 60 in SF after Jankovic had point for 62 52; l. to Sharapova in final); was seventh in Open Era to reach all four Grand Slam finals in one year, and first since Hingis (1997); was also first player since Graf (1993) to reach finals at all four Grand Slams plus Tour Championships; including
Roland Garros and Tour Championships, won a Tour-leading six titles, the other four coming at Sydney (d. Schiavone 46 75 75 in final after trailing 4-1 second set and 5-3 third set), Dubai (d. Sharapova in final), Eastbourne (d. Clijsters in SF and Myskina in final), New Haven (won when Davenport ret. down 60 10 in final w/right shoulder strain); also runner-up at Berlin (d. Kuznetsova and Mauresmo en route to final; l. to Petrova); SF twice, at Indian Wells (l. to Dementieva 26 75 75, having led 62 52) and Charleston (l. to Schnyder for first time in seven meetings in 3s); only pre-SF loss of year came at Miami (as No.3 seed w/1r bye, l. 2r to Shaughnessy); having begun year at No.6, returned to No.5 on January 30 (after
Australian Open), to No.4 and No.3 on February 27 and March 6 (shortly after Dubai), to No.2 on August 28 (after New Haven), and to No.1 on November 13 (year-end); wins over Davenport (
Australian Open) and Mauresmo (Berlin, Tour Championships) were fifth, sixth and seventh career victories over reigning No.1s; 60 wins tied her for most of season (w/Kuznetsova); was also only player in Tour history to earn $2 million heading into
Wimbledon; also led Belgium to Fed Cup Final, going 2-1 in 1r win over two-time defending champions Russia (d. Petrova, Dementieva; w/Clijsters, l. to Kirilenko/Safina) and 2-1 in 3-2 loss to Italy (d. Pennetta, Schiavone; w/Flipkens, ret. in doubles rubber vs. Schiavone/Vinci w/right knee injury); withdrew from Warsaw w/back injury and from San Diego, Montréal, Stuttgart and Zürich w/right knee injury.
2007 - Second straight No.1 finish (third overall) after phenomenal season, winning 10 of 14 events entered and becoming first in Tour history to win over $5 million in a single year; 10 titles included sixth and seventh career Grand Slams at
Roland Garros and
US Open; as top seed at
Roland Garros, d. No.8 seed S.Williams in QF and No.4 seed Jankovic in SF before d. No.7 seed Ivanovic 61 62 in final (second player to claim three straight titles there in Open Era after Seles, who did so from 1990 to 1992); as top seed at
US Open, d. No.8 seed S.Williams in QF and No.12 seed V.Williams in SF before d. No.4 seed Kuznetsova 61 63 in final (first player to d. both Williams sisters in same Grand Slam and go on to win title, and just second after Hingis to d. both at a Grand Slam at all); now one of only nine women to claim seven or more Grand Slams in Open Era (also King, Court, Goolagong, Navratilova, Evert, Graf and S.Williams) and second among active players (S.Williams has eight); other eight titles (as top seed at each one) came at Dubai (d. No.2 seed Mauresmo in final; now 16-0 there), Doha (d. No.2 seed Kuznetsova in final; saved mp down 5-4 third set of QF win over Schnyder), Warsaw (d. A.Bondarenko in final), Eastbourne (d. No.2 seed Mauresmo 75 67(4) 76(2) in final, having trailed 4-2 and 5-3 third set), Toronto (d. No.2 seed Jankovic 76(3) 75 in final, having trailed 4-1 in first set and 4-2 in second set), Stuttgart (d. Golovin in final), Zürich (d. Golovin in final; was 10th career Tier I title) and ultimately Tour Championships (qualified at No.1 in Race; went 3-0 in RR with 2s wins over Chakvetadze, Jankovic and Bartoli; d. Ivanovic in SF before d. No.6 seed Sharapova 57 75 63 in 3h 24min final, longest best-of-three-set final in Tour Championships history and 12th-longest Tour match in Open Era); 10 titles was first double-digit season tally since Hingis' 12 in 1997; 5-0 record at Tour Championships improved Henin's win streak to 25 matches, a personal best and the longest on Tour since V.Williams' 35 in 2000; four losses in phenomenal 63-4 record (a .940 winning percentage - highest since Graf's .977 season in 1989) came at Paris [Indoors] (in first event of year after missing entire Australian swing w/personal reasons; as top seed, upset by Safarova 76(5) 64 in SF, after holding 3sp in first set and 4-2 second set lead), Miami (as No.2 seed, l. to No.13 seed S.Williams 06 75 63 in final, having held 2mp while leading 5-4 second set), Berlin (as top seed, l. to No.3 seed Kuznetsova 64 57 64 in SF) and
Wimbledon (as top seed, d. No.7 seed S.Williams in QF before stunning upset to No.18 seed Bartoli in SF, falling 16 75 61 after leading 61 53); no pre-SF losses all season; spent all but seven weeks of the season ranked No.1 (lost it to Sharapova for seven weeks after
Australian Open but regained it at Miami); with $1-million winnings at Tour Championships, became first woman to pass $5 million in season earnings ($5,429,586), passing previous all-time record holder Clijsters' $4,466,345 total from 2003 (Henin now holds two of the three $4 million-plus season totals of all time, having earned $4,204,810 in 2006); aside from Sydney and
Australian Open (personal reasons), also withdrew from Charleston w/asthmatic bronchitis, San Diego w/right wrist injury, Beijing w/respiratory infection and Moscow w/right shoulder injury.
