All Hail the new Queen

It was a sad day when Justine Henin announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25 with immediate effect last month. She retired while being on top, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No. 1.

In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. She has been ranked No. 1 since Nov. 13, 2006, except for a seven-week period last year when Sharapova held the top spot, and won nearly $20 million in career prize money.

Last year, she trashed Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-2 to retain the French Open title she won for the past two years. She also won the US Open last year by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight set.

With her shocked retirement, the No. 1 spot was up for grabs, and the French Open was the decider for these playes: Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Jankovic and Ivanovic. But Sharapova packed her bags early on, while Ivanovic beat Jankovic and Kuznetsova lost to Safina. That leaves Ivanovic as the sole survivor, and she reached the final for the second consecutive year.

With this being her third Grand Slam final, she was more prepared than her two previous finals, where she lost to Henin and Sharapova (US Open). Her opponent this time was Dinara Safina, a surprise finalist after despatching Kuznetsova, Dementieva and Sharapova along the way. But there would not be a choke this time, as a precised and composed Ivanovic wrapped up the game in style in straight set, 6-4 6-3.

Her first Grand Slam title to accompany her at the top of the women's ranking.

Isn't she adorable?