Stresses on personal relationships behind elite athletes' decision to retire

Published on Friday 16 May 2008 23:12

Sorenstam and Henin earned right to walk away at top of their sports

IT WAS after he became the only golfer ever to win the Grand Slam in 1930 that Bobby Jones made one of the most surprising announcements in sporting history. At the tender age of 28, when he'd just won the Open, the US Open, the British Amateur and the US Amateur in a single season, Jones decided never to compete again in championship golf.

The American was as good as his word. There was no going back after he retired from the majors at the height of his powers. Though not registering quite as strongly on the Richter scale of sporting bombshells, the news this week that two of the most successful women in international sport have also decided to go out at the top was still a jaw-dropping development.

Golfer Annika Sorenstam, winner of ten majors, and the world No1 tennis player Justine Henin, who can count seven grand slam singles titles, both held press conferences within the space of 24 hours to reveal they were quitting. With talent, experience and glory all on their side, why would these still successful athletes choose to turn their backs on top flight competition?

At 38, and soon to marry for the second time, Sorenstam's decision was the less mysterious of the two. The Swede has never hidden her desire to have children and may be ready to devote more attention in future years to family life than she was able in the past.

The winner of 72 events in America over the past 14 years, including the Michelob Ultra Open in Virginia last weekend, Sorenstam did not quit on the spot. Instead, she's in contention again at the Sybase Classic in New Jersey and will compete in the big events until the end of the season. Her farewell tour arrives in the UK at Sunningdale when the Ricoh British Women's Open takes place from 31 July to 3 August.

Ranked No 2 in the world, Sorenstam is ready to give the game's new leading light, Lorena Ochoa, a run for her money this season, but it was asking a lot of the Swede to wrest back her crown from a player 12 years her junior. The Mexican, for one, has pledged to quit the LPGA after just ten years of competition in order to do other things with her own life. She said she understood Annika's motivation. "I know it's a tough decision to quit playing, to have a family and other activities off the golf course," noted Ochoa, "so I admire her very much."

In women's tennis, the reaction was more quizzical. In any other walk of life, at 25, Henin could hardly be described as a veteran, though in tennis there are plenty of women who peaked in their early 20s. The Belgian, who won the last three French Open titles, decided to quit with immediate effect and will not be at Wimbledon this summer to fill the only gap in her CV. She's never tasted victory at the game's most prestigious championship and Martina Navratilova couldn't understand her haste.

"If that doesn't motivate you (winning Wimbledon], either you're completely burned out or something else is going on," observed the former Grand Slam champion. Recalling how Kim Clijsters also chose to turn her back on tennis at 23 last year – she has since married and become a mother – Navratilova conceded there was more pressure exerted on young female tennis players now than in her heyday. "They push so much harder when they're younger than we ever did," added the veteran. "That's where the longevity gets cut short."

Like Sorenstam, there may have been a personal element in Henin's decision to quit. The Belgian has also gone through a divorce and experienced a challenging upbringing. Her mother died when she was 12 and for a time she was estranged from her father. The pair were only reconciled last year after her brother nearly died in a car crash.

Tennis, it seems, no longer fulfilled her dreams. Henin made the point that even if she'd felt capable of winning Wimbledon, the feat would not have made her any happier. Since the business of competing at the highest level of modern sport is so all-consuming, it was interesting to hear her remark: "It's my life as a woman that starts now."

Of course, there are sportswomen who combine family life with careers, but elite female athletes face stresses and strains in their private relationships which, possibly, their male counterparts don't. And to be the best, you have to give up almost everything else.

Although golf may be a partial exception to the rule, sport is largely the domain of the young. Athletes, even the greatest, only enjoy a finite time at the top before the next big thing comes along.

Finding the right time to leave the stage is an art. Go too soon and you miss out on additional achievement; leave too late and earlier accomplishments become tarnished.

Bjorn Borg retired at 26 and the fact he would later attempt an unsuccessful comeback suggests the Swede's timing was out. Jones, on the other hand, went on to enjoy a remarkable second phase of his career in which he made successful instruction films in Hollywood, built Augusta National and founded the Masters.

Only posterity will decide if Sorenstam and Henin have made timely decisions for themselves, their careers and their sports. What isn't up for debate, though, is the freedom to choose. These gifted athletes have earned the right to walk away when they like.