Henin joins Clijsters on sideline for Fed Cup
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Justine Henin will not play for Belgium in the Fed Cup against the United States, joining Kim Clijsters on the sideline.
"With my advisers, we decided not to play in 2007," Henin said Sunday on her Web site. "We took the decision because of the very heavy calendar."
The United States and Belgium play the first round on April 21-22 in Delray Beach, Fla.
Henin is No. 2 in the rankings and will resume her season in Paris this week. She pulled out of the Australian Open for personal reasons and announced she was getting a divorce.
Clijsters, ranked No. 4, plans to retire after this season. She said her schedule was too busy and she needed time to plan for her marriage later this year.
Belgium's third-best player is Kirsten Flipkens, who is ranked 104th.
Henin and Clijsters played the Fed Cup last year and Belgium reached the final. But Clijsters was injured for the final against Italy, and Henin withdrew with a knee injury in the decisive match, handing the title to Italy.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
