New York--(lawntennismag.com) Tim Henman of England, slowed this year by a knee injury and a persistent
back problem, has scheduled a press conference for Thursday in New York during which he is set to outline his tennis plans for the rest of this year.
Rumor has it Henman will announce his retirement from the sport of tennis effective after he plays for Britain versus Croatia next month for a spot in the
Davis Cup's World Group to be played at the Wimbledon All England Club.
Henman began playing tennis at age two and a half with his parents and two older brothers.
His great grandmother, Ellen Stawell Brown, was the first lady to serve overarm at Wimbledon in 1901. His grandfather and great-grandfather also competed at
Wimbledon.
After turning professional in 1993, Henman reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, and won 11 career ATP Tour singles titles.
He reached a world ranking of number four in 2002 playing his sterling style of serve and volley tennis. This year however injuries and tough draws have dropped
his ranking to 92 and his year to date won-loss record to 5-11.
"I still really enjoy practicing and training and also playing matches. It's just frustrating that my body has struggled to cope with what I've been asking it to do
in the past couple of years," Henman said. "Having a family has certainly changed the way I look at the world and also to a certain extent my priorities in life,
but I would not go so far as to say that it has diminished my hunger for the game. I was also planning to play in New Haven this week but I had to pull out
because I'm having a few problems with my back. I'm not fully fit, so my focus at the moment is to try to get my back sorted out and then to take it from there."
Henman, Britain's most successful open era player, is widely regarded as one of the best players never to win a Grand Slam tournament, tennis' top prize.
Tim Henman statement
20/8/07 11:49 AM
After today’s speculation in the British press regarding my future in tennis, I will be holding a press conference in New York at 11:00am local time on
Thursday 23 August when I will discuss my plans for the remainder of 2007.
Until then, I’ll continue to work hard on regaining full fitness ahead of the US Open which begins next Monday.
