Is it any wonder Justine Henin has decided to return to competitive tennis?

As she watches one player after the other throw her number one ranking around like a hot potato, the Belgian has realised that she should still be ruling the roost in the women's game.

Sixteen months after her shock decision to quit, announced with the explanation she no longer had the desire to compete on the global treadmill, Henin sat and watched compatriot Kim Clijsters claim the US Open title just weeks into her own comeback.

And if Clijsters can perform such heroics, surely Henin is capable of winning January's Australian Open even quicker after launching a return.

Why? Well, for one, Henin has not given birth like Clijsters.

Secondly Henin has always taken her tennis very seriously.

Yet while Clijsters' return was lauded by all and sundry, I doubt Henin's will be so widely appreciated.

Clijsters has and remains a media darling, her happy-go-lucky attitude winning her many friends.

It was never quite the same with the steely-eyed Henin. She always felt her job on the tour was to win. Full stop.

While it would be unfair to say Henin often courted controversy, she certainly managed to cause a stir at times.

One memorable incident came at the 2003 French Open when Henin raised a hand to stop Serena Williams serving yet when the umpire failed to spot this and Williams complained, Henin would not allow a let.

She also took plenty of criticism when she retired from final of the 2006 Australian Open, leaving Amelie Mauresmo with an empty feeling of a maiden Grand Slam victory. It was a scenario repeated in that year's Fed Cup final.

But, above all, the one section that won't be glad to see Henin back is her fellow players.

Henin was the undoubted number one when she quit and, while the ranking stats don't show it, in truth she had been for some time. Her 2007 season was among the best in tour history - the pint-sized star lost just four matches during the year and her 63-4 win-loss record gave her a winning percentage of 94, the best since Steffi Graf went 86-2 in 1989.

Her graceful style was coupled with a ruthless determination which rivalled that of renowned street fighter Serena Williams.

That charateristic will ensure her comeback is not taken lightly and you can take it as read that Henin will be firing on all cylinders when she hits the court again in January.

After little more than a year away, her opponents will be worried, make no mistake.

Overall Henin's return will be good a thing, at least for now, with another interesting story sure to be to the fore until January and probably beyond. Yet deep down you have to feel a little disappointed that the women's game does not seem to be moving on.

While the remarkable Clijsters story meant the women's draw got more attention than the men's at Flushing Meadows, is it really in the long-term interests of the WTA that a couple of former champions come back and, in all probability, return as if they've never been away?

Like all sports, tennis thrives on new blood coming through the ranks. That's why in Britain we are so excited by the potential of Laura Robson and Heather Watson. It was also seen for a time in New York where American teenager Melanie Oudin was the headline act for a few days.

The Williams sisters sped up the game's evolution at the start of the decade and they managed to drag the likes of Henin and Clijsters to new heights, so much so that the Belgian duo dominated for a period of their own in the mid-noughties.

Yet the likes of Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina have since failed to continue the evolution.

Henin's return is sure to grab headlines come January, but you sense the women's game will really be treading water the longer she and Clijsters continue to shine at the highest level.

Let us know your views on Henin's return. Is it a good thing for the women's game? And how do you rate her chances of success upon her return? Email your feedback to tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.