SHE returned to tennis dreaming of Wimbledon glory and emulating Roger Federer, but Justine Henin last night laid down her racquet for good with those targets still unfulfilled.

Little over a year after she ended her brief period period in retirement, the supremely talented Belgian has been forced to quit for a second time because of an elbow injury she first sustained at Wimbledon last summer.

Henin took the rest of the season off and the signs were good when she returned to action earlier this month at the Hopman Cup.

But, following her thirdround Australian Open exit to Svetlana Kuznetsova, she underwent further tests that confirmed the elbow is too weak to stand the rigours of professional tennis.

The seven-time grand slam champion said: “After my loss at Wimbledon in June, I knew it would be difficult to come back.

“But I had decided to keep playing and to give everything to overcome the injury.

“In these recent months, I have rarely been spared from the pain, those last months were very hard. Time has passed, and the doubts have grown, and only returning to the courts would give me answers.”