Justine Henin broke the little finger of her left hand while practicing with Fed Cup teammate Kirsten Flipkens and has pulled out of her singles matches in Belgium's tie with Estonia. Belgium captain Sabine Appelmans said that Henin sustained the injury when she was at net and opted to catch a ball rather than volley it.
“A similar fracture to my right hand would have kept me off the courts for several weeks,” said four-time French Open champion Henin.
The injury to Henin may not affect the outcome of the tie, as the Belgium squad still features U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters and U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Clijsters will play Maret Ani in singles, while Wickmayer will go up against Kaia Kanepi. Kanepi has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Wickmayer.
Estonia’s captain, Rene Busch, said a win by his nation would be a huge upset. “In soccer terms, this is like Estonia tackling Brazil in the World Cup final,” he told FedCup.com.—Matt Cronin