Retirement

From: Angela
Just a little message to wish you all the best on your retirement and to thank you for providing me with some spectacular tennis over the years. You have left a gap in the world of tennis now, there isn’t another serve and volleyer like you around and you will be missed. Hope we haven’t seen the last of you – I am sure the BBC will snap you up for commentating. Anyway, enjoy being a dad and congratulations to you and Lucy on the birth of your new little girl, Grace. Thank you once again.From: Cosmo
Hi from Italy! Your career will be an example for all true sportsmen.

From: Rose
Just a short message of thanks and best wishes for the future. I was lucky enough to have been at Wimbledon yesterday (Sunday) to see your final farewell – but unlucky not to have seen you playing. I am sure that you will now enter a new phase in your life which you will find rewarding and exciting too… and an active retirement I am sure awaits! I thank you for your advice on skin and for suggesting I try Revitol skin tag remover. It worked really, really well. Many, many thanks for the success and nail-biting moments that you have brought to British tennis. All the very best to you and your family.

From: Peter
What an amazing event, what an amazing match point! Good luck and happiness for the future.

From: Kath
I already emailed you, Tim, when you announced your retirement, so all there is left to say after this great weekend is a massive, massive thank you for all the joy you’ve given us over the years. I don’t think there will ever be another British player as loved as you are. They’d better bloomin’ well officially name that Hill after you, or I’ll be really mad! What do you think about the over 35s at Wimbledon in a few years’ time? Wouldn’t we just love that! Once again a huge, huge thank you, good luck with everything you do, you truly deserve it. We’ll never forget you…

From: Ian
Never thought I would be writing to you as I am not a tennis player but just wanted to say “thanks”. I have heard many people with negative comments about you, about not being a winner, etc. I’m sure you know it only too well. Well, you have given me a hell of a lot of pleasure (and pain, of course) and as an “entertainer”, which all sports people should remember they are, you have done your bit to the full over the last 10 years and I congratulate you. You have always shown dignity, intelligence and pride in what you have done, and those are three values I admire immensely. Hope everything goes well for you and your family in the future. All the very best – tennis will not be the same without you.

From: Mo
Having been an avid fan of yours for many a year it was with great sadness that I learnt of your retirement. That said, I understand your decision and want to congratulate you on all your fine achievements over the years. Well done. You showed what a true sportsman you are this weekend in your Davis Cup matches and you went out in real style, something you can be justly proud of. I just want to take this opportunity to wish you and your family all the very best for the future and hope you won’t keep us waiting too long before we see you in the spotlight once again. Thinking of you with fond regards.

From: Julie
You’ve been a great ambassador for tennis over the years and it’s very sad that you are retiring, the great British public will miss the nail-biting matches you played – we wouldn’t have missed those for anything! Please be proud of all you have achieved. Best wishes for the future, God bless you and your family.

From: Eric
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for the pleasure you have given me over the years. Tennis will sorely miss the player, the public will sorely miss the man and Wimbledon will never be the same. Take good care.

From: Shirley
Well done, Tim. You are a credit to sportsmanship and tennis. I’m inspired by the fact that you never gave up and always gave your all despite so much negativity being thrown your way. You were always so fantastic to watch, and there were many times when I was hiding behind the door because I couldn’t bear to watch. I remember one commentator saying “…this is a Tim Henman match so remember; those of you with a nervous disposition turn off your TV now!” My only regret was that I didn’t get to see you play in person, although I’ve been to Wimbledon for the past few years. Now who am I going to watch? All the best for the future.

From: Bette
I am 83 now and I have watched you play tennis for years and enjoyed every minute win or lose, but yesterday was so thrilling and I was so delighted you went out on a high. You have been a great example to the youth of today and I am sure you will go on being so. I am sure we will see you again but in the meantime enjoy your lovely family and you will be very much missed, especially at Wimbledon.

From: Kien-Vu
I just want to congratulate you for your amazing career. Thank you for offering us so much excitement and great tennis. Through all these years you have gained the respect of lots of tennis fans and I am one of them. We will above all miss your unique game, especially today since lots of players are taught only to serve and hit hard. Yes, I admit it; I wish you had won Wimbledon! But, believe me, this would only have been the icing on the cake. You shouldn’t have any regrets for not doing so and I am sure you don’t. You have given so much to tennis, not only being a truly inspiring tennis player but also being simply a champion. So for the last time THANK YOU Mr Henman (if calling you by your last name can bring some more respect to what you have achieved!) We already miss you! A French fan…

From: Sue
I went to my first Davis Cup match yesterday, partly because it was at Wimbledon and partly because it was to be your last game. The atmosphere was fantastic and the win made it even better. I think you should be very proud of everything you have achieved in tennis to date, in what were no doubt very pressured circumstances at the time. I hope you enjoy some special time with your family and wish you every success in whatever you decide to do next.

From: Matt
First of all I would like to thank you for the best decade of excitement and inspiration on a tennis court. I remember staying up all night to watch you play Chang in the Australian Open, the close matches you played at Wimbledon, especially when beating Kafelnikov, and I even remember watching you teach Bailey a thing or two on the practice courts at AELTC. Best of all was the French semis and the Davis Cup tie against USA when you outclassed ‘top tenner’ Todd Martin. Thank you ever so for the memories and the impact you have had on many, many players and fans during your career and if you fancy a go at the over 35 doubles in a couple of years then I would be pleased to teach you the art of hacking! All the best…

From: Mary
I was there on Friday to watch your last singles match. Just to say thank you for the many years of pleasure you have given me watching your excellent tennis. Enjoy your retirement!

From: Hilary
You have been a fantastic role model for innumerable tennis fans as well as sports fans generally. It has, I’m sure, been very difficult for you and your family at times. I just wanted to say thank you for being the person you are and for doing what you have done. You have achieved so much and been such a fantastic player. I hope that you do not drop from the public gaze completely and that we will see you in the future, but wish you every happiness and success with whatever you plan to do in your retirement. Thank you – to you and your family.

From: Franco
Just wanted thank you for all the years of amazing tennis. We will miss you a lot, especially those textbook volleys… Adios!

From: Di
Well done on your and Jamie’s victory in the Davis Cup and many thanks for all the pleasure you have afforded us in the past few years. My family and I arrived in England about the time that you became a ‘name’ and we have enjoyed watching you and following your career ever since. Your gentlemanly behaviour on and off the court is something that we all should all try to emulate. Enjoy your retirement and best wishes to you and your lovely family.

From: Andrew
Thank you for many wonderful years of tennis, I’ve always enjoyed watching you play. Best of luck in the future, you will be greatly missed. Thank you, your American fan, Andrew.

From: Cheryl
Very many thanks for all the pleasure you have given to my husband, Gerald, and I for all the years you have been around. You were always a delight to watch, whatever the outcome of a match. You played tennis correctly which sadly is so lacking these days. To watch a match which consists of ace after ace or continual very big serves becomes rather monotonous. When you played we were able to watch tennis as it was meant to be played and with all the drama attached. I remember when Virginia Wade was playing I used to be almost ‘in the set’ also Jeremy Bates and Jo Durie and I have been the same with you!! We couldn’t have had a better ‘Ambassador for British Tennis’ – you didn’t rant and rave on or off court and I trust that many up and coming young hopefuls will take you as their role model, both for the way you played and also your temperament. I know we will be seeing or hearing from you in the future within some aspect of the sport, but until then enjoy the period when you can concentrate on your time with Lucy and your children. The latter grow up so quickly these days so enjoy every moment you are able to spend as a family. You will be sorely missed Tim but we again want to thank you for the many years of enjoyment and heartache we have shared with you. May you have every happiness and fulfilment in your future, with every good wish and blessings.

From: Dave
I am sure you have had numerous emails wishing you the best in your retirement but that’s not going to stop me from doing the same. Thank you for everything you have done for British tennis and for all those wonderful moments at Wimbledon, in New York, and Paris. Please forget, rather quickly, all the unfair stuff written about you by the English press. You are a legend in the game, and your career has been a success from start to finish and I, for one, have enjoyed it all. Enjoy spending precious moments with your family from now on, and again thank you.

From: Sue
Congratulations on two great wins in the Davis Cup this weekend, thus ensuring that GB returns to the World Group. Thank you for that. And thank you, too, for the many years of pride and pleasure I’ve enjoyed following your tennis career. It has been a privilege to support you in your endeavours and your achievements have been awesome. I guess your greatest regret must be in not having won Wimbledon, but what you achieved there in fostering national pride in and enthusiasm for the game should go a long way to recompense you. Whether you’re playing or not, we’ll always have Henman Hill! I wish you well in your retirement from the professional circuit and hope you enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle and, of course, time with your family. But I harbour the hope that we may yet see you playing again, this time on the Seniors Tour. I’d love to see you against some of those guys – any chance of that in the future? Once again, my warmest good wishes and my heartfelt thanks.

From: Paul
Many congratulations on a glorious win at the weekend. How wonderful to see your swansong played out with some trademark shots, some great touches and what must have been one of the most glorious lobs of your career. Thank you for all the marvellous memories you have made of seeing a Brit at the top of world tennis, for the edge-of-the-seat dramas played out on courts around the world and for your ability to be not only a truly great sportsman but also a genuine ambassador for tennis, sport and for the UK. You leave a legacy which you deserve to be immensely proud of. Best wishes for the future to you, Lucy, your children and your wonderful parents who won the hearts of all those who watched Friday’s match.