This summer the former tennis world No1 will be inducted into the International Hall of Fame, and rightfully so.

The Belgian, who celebrates her 34th birthday today, is renowned as one of the best tennis players of the 2000s.

She won 43 WTA titles, including seven grand slams (four French Open, two US Open and one Australian Open) and was ranked No1 for a total of 117 weeks (seventh all-time).

She is also an Olympic gold medallist winning the singles crown at the 2004 Games.

Henin was one of the smallest players on tour but possessed arguably the best one-handed backhand and combined it with her incredible athleticism and mental fortitude to become one of the most successful stars before her first retirement in 2008.

She would return in 2010 but retired indefinitely a year later due to an elbow injury.

Other sports stars born on this day:

1981: Carlos Zambrano, holds the Chicago Cubs record for most home runs by a pitcher (35).

1985: Tirunesh Dibaba, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who won 10,000m gold at London 2012 (31).

1986: Ben Smith, is a fullback for the Highlanders a Rugby World Cup winner with New Zealand (30).

1988: Javier Hernandez, is a striker for Bayer Leverkusen and Mexico’s second-highest all-time goal scorer (28).