The ‘Pre-Safinite Sisterhood’ (also known as the ‘HenKimPovites’) was a Revivalist movement with it’s roots at the turn of the Millennium. All three members (Henin, Kimmie and Pova) of this self-styled sisterhood took a leave of absence at the height of their very considerable powers through causes relating to burn out and injury.
They staged a return to professional tennis, perhaps in reaction to the perceived ‘mechanisation’ of the sport that had gathered momentum during their absence, and with a view to restoring some much needed credibility to the the battle for the number one ranking, and to the WTA in particular: an organisation that had become largely overrun by gangly, inflexible and significantly less creative baseliners , neither of whom seemed to possess the stomach for the #1 ranking – the battle for which was now taking place in an atmosphere of decreased and at times embittered competition.
Their period out of the game also saw the rise of one Dinara Safina to the #1 spot, whose imposing , if slightly one dimensional brand of tennis, quickly became an object of ridicule for those that sought a return to the old ways; because the movement envisioned such a return, and because their distaste extended only to the long line of similarly styled ‘Safinites’, rather than to Safina herself, they were at first known informally only as the ‘Pre-Safinites’. Over time, the group became more formally known by the full name in use today.
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