Henin Rumored To Be Returning in 2010

As soon as I heard that Kim Clijsters was returning to the women's tennis tour I knew (and said so at the time) that it would only be a matter of time before her Belgian compatriot, 7-time major champion Justine Henin-Hardenne who retired abruptly a few weeks before the May 2008 French Open would join her.

Now there are rumors she may be coming back as early as Spring 2010:

[Henin] has started training for exhibitions in Belgium and Dubai at the end of this year. Henin’s entourage has confirmed the preparations, while Vers L'Avenir added that Henin is considering the revival of her tennis career

The story is starting to be picked up around the world, with Agence France Press reporting:

Vers l'Avenir newspaper reported that "Juju has as good as taken her decision to return to competition from January."

[...]

Close friend and former coach Carlos Rodriguez played down the rumours.

"There's nobody telling me of a return. We've not spoken about that. I am really astonished," Rodriguez insisted.

But he did confirm that "she is training, yes. Two or three times a week to get herself in shape as she's not played for a year. That's all."

However, his wife was quoted as telling Vers l'Avenir that "something is in the offing but I'm not allowed to talk about it."

Officially, Henin is down to play exhibition matches at the end of the year in Belgium and Dubai.

Under international anti-doping rules Henin would have to inform the game's authorities if she were to return three months beforehand.

Kimmie better hurry up and win another Slam before the Other Belgian returns, because in major championships Clijsters was something like 0-4 (2003 US Open final, 2004 Australian Open final, 2006 French Open semifinal, 2006 Wimbledon semifinal) against Henin.