MELBOURNE: News of Justine Henin's second retirement due to an elbow injury was greeted with shock and disappointment at the Australian Open on Thursday.

The Belgian seven-times grand slam champion played through the pain to reach the third round in Melbourne before suffering defeat against Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The 28-year-old announced on her website on Wednesday that she had taken doctors' advice to quit the game.

“I was surprised when I heard that news this morning,” said world number three Kim Clijsters, whose own comeback to the game after becoming a mother inspired Henin's second tilt.

“To be honest, I haven't been in touch with her, so I can't really know what the situation is with her elbow.

“Obviously it's a sad situation to see such a great player end her career in this kind of way.”

Henin first retired in May 2008 when she was ranked No.1 in the world after becoming disillusioned with the game. She came back at the start of 2010 and made a fairytale run to the final at last year's Australian Open.

Current top-ranked player Caroline Wozniacki said she thought Henin was ready to start a new chapter in her life.

“Justine is a great champion and she's been unlucky since she made the comeback,” said the Dane.

“Definitely growing up I was watching and looking at her playing and winning slams.

“But we have so many young players coming up. We have a lot of great players out there.”

China's Li Na, who spent years battling a raft of injuries, expressed sympathy for Henin, who was sidelined for six months last year after injuring tendons in her elbow at Wimbledon.

“For the player, if you are injured, this is the worst ...You never want to see a player like Justine retire, because she's great for women's tennis,” said Li, who will play Clijsters for the Melbourne title on Saturday.

“You never want to see a player retiring because of an injury. It's very sad for the sport. It is part of the sport, but it's very sad to see.”