In 2003, Henin won her first Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, defeating her compatriot Kim Clijsters in the final 6-0, 6-4. She reached the final after defeating top ranked Serena Williams in three sets, recovering from a 2-4 deficit in the third set.

When she was 4 years old, a chance encounter changed her life. She met with the father of tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and the man gave her a racket. From that moment, she started hitting tennis balls. The game soon became a passion for her.

Ivanović started her promising career at the age of 5, after memorising the number of a local tennis clinic from an ad on TV. Ivanović was inspired by the performances of Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslavian/Serbian at Roland Garros. During her training she encountered the NATO bombings in 1999, where.........

Daniela's career was always going to be tennis. Whilst her entire family were keen players, Daniela was probably inspired most by her grandmother Helena, a former Czechoslovakia national player, who introduced Daniela to the sport at the tender age of three.

Maria was very much fond of sport from the very childhood. When she was five years old she started dancing, and when she was seven, her father brought her to ''Dinamo'' Moscow Central Stadium, one of the best tennis schools at the time. He had used to play tennis and to really enjoy it - though he could not imagine that this sport will become such an important part of his family's life.