In light of Ashleigh Barty's retirement, throwback to when Justine Henin shocked the tennis world by retiring as World No. 1

Ashleigh Barty sent shock waves across the tennis world on Wednesday when she announced her retirement from the sport, just two months after her Australian Open triumph. The Australian spent 120 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings and opted to walk away in her prime.

The retirement of a player ranked No. 1 in the world is surprising, but it has happened before. Justine Henin shocked the tennis fraternity by announcing her retirement in the middle of the 2008 season, ending her 61-week stint as the top-ranked women's player.

The Belgian became World No. 1 for the first time in 2003 and stayed there until 2004. Henin returned to the top spot for a brief period in late 2006 (11 weeks) and again in 2007 (61 weeks). Overall, the 39-year-old spent 117 weeks at the top, just three weeks shy of Ashleigh Barty.

What was shocking about Justine Henin's announcement was the timing.

The Belgian had won 17 of the 20 matches she contested that year prior to her third-round loss against Dinara Safina at the German Open, which proved to be her last match before her retirement. She won two titles, one in Sydney and one in front of her home fans in Antwerp.

The former World No. 1 had also reached the semifinals in seven of her previous eight Grand Slams (three titles and three runner-up finishes) and was expected to cement her status as one of the greatest players of all time in the coming years.

But it was not to be. After pulling out of the Italian Open citing fatigue, the seven-time Grand Slam champion announced her retirement on 14 May at the age of 25. The Belgian made the announcement just two weeks before Roland Garros, where she was the three-time defending champion.

The Belgian had equaled Monica Seles' record of three straight triumphs in Paris the previous year and was the heavy favorite to take home the trophy for a fourth time in 2008.

After calling time on her career, Henin requested the WTA to remove her name from the rankings, which led to Maria Sharapova becoming the World No. 1 for the fourth time in her career.

Coming to Ashleigh Barty, the Australian pulled the curtains down on her career following her best-ever season on the tour. The 25-year-old won every match she played in 2022 (11-0) and lost only one set across two tournaments.

Will Ashleigh Barty follow in Justine Henin's footsteps and come out of retirement in the future?

Ashleigh Barty returning sometime in the future is not entirely out of the question

The question on the minds of Ashleigh Barty's fans following the Australian's retirement announcement will be whether she can possibly make a return in the future.

Justine Henin officially returned to tennis within two years, at the Brisbane International at the beginning of 2010.

Entering the tournament with a wildcard, the Belgian reached the final, defeating seventh seed Melinda Czink (quarterfinals) and third seed Ana Ivanovic (semifinals). She fell to top seed Kim Clijsters, who herself had come out of retirement only the previous year.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion played four more Grand Slams post-retirement, reaching one final (2010 Australian Open) and at least the third round in the others.

With Ashleigh Barty having already returned from a brief hiatus (between 2015 and 2016) before, it is not unreasonable for fans to expect to see the three-time Grand Slam champion on a tennis court again in the future.