Ok, so I admit that I had never heard of Justine Henin until I saw the article about her retirement. I don't follow tennis. It turns out that Henin retired while ranked as the #1 tennis player in the world. She's won 41 singles titles, and has won 386 more matches than she's lost. She's earned $19,461,375.

She's 25 years old.

The Times article carried quotes from her competitors, expressing their shock. What I feel is admiration for her. It looks to me that she has retired because what she's been doing has prevented her from being the person she is. She's ready to leave behind the obsessive sacrifices necessary to be an elite athlete. Instead, she wants to be more healthy in her personal life than she has been. She wants to give attention to a new tennis academy she has established in her native Belgium, to teach the game to kids. She said, "I think I will take a long vacation. I'm going to appreciate going for a run with nothing at stake, just doing it for pleasure. I've never put my feet in skis, and next year I think I'll be doing it the whole winter. I want to rediscover the small pleasures, not look at my watch all the time because I have to get to training the next day." How refreshing for an elite athlete to have such perspective, to recognize what's important in life.

It also makes me think of the most recent graduate of The University to leave pro football: former quarterback Aaron Brooks. Brooks has also made millions playing his sport. He's no longer a starter, but he's only 32, and could be a back-up (making millions more) for several more years. But he decided to retire this summer, for two reasons. He's made enough money. And he's begun working with Newport News city officials to invest millions of his own money into redeveloping the dangerous and poverty-stricken neighborhod he grew up in. That community activism is his life, and he's anxious to get on with it!

What wonderful role models Henin and Brooks are. It's a shame that they are so unusual among their peers: having the confidence that their most significant accomplishments in life will be beyond the playing arena.