Kiki Bertens is considered one of the most successful Dutch women in tennis of all time. This isn't surprising, considering the Wateringen native was at one point ranked fourth in the WTA rankings . Never before had a Dutch woman reached such a high ranking in the world, so it's fair to say Bertens achieved a remarkable feat during her career. In 2021, Kiki Bertens decided to retire from tennis, which came as a surprise to many tennis fans. How did Bertens' career begin? What were the biggest successes for the successful Dutch woman, and how did her career end so abruptly? Sjeng Sports compiles a player profile.
Name: Kiki Bertens
Nationality: Dutch
Born on: December 10, 1991
Tennis hand: Right
Current WTA Ranking: None, retired
First ITF and WTA titles
Kiki Bertens and tennis proved to be a good combination from a young age. While she initially combined the sport with handball, she eventually turned her attention to tennis. In August 2006, at the age of fifteen, Bertens played her first ITF tournament, and three years later, she achieved her first professional title in both singles and doubles. Step by step, Bertens climbed to higher levels, and in 2011, she made her first appearance in a WTA tournament (in Rosmalen). From that moment on, Bertens' WTA tournament appearances came in rapid succession, and on April 28, 2012, she achieved her first WTA title in Fez, Morocco. In the final, she defeated Spain's Laura Pous Tio, after which Bertens stormed into the world's top 100.
From that point on, Bertens played tennis exclusively at the highest level and also competed in Grand Slams. Several years of mixed results followed, although the Wateringen native consistently managed to maintain a top-100 ranking. Kiki Bertens then parted ways with her coach, Christiaan de Jong, and appointed former professional Raemon Sluiter to help her rediscover her career path.
Roland Garros semi-final and more successful years
From 2016 onwards, Bertens' career took off again, culminating in the Nuremberg tournament, where she won both the singles and doubles titles (with Johanna Larsson). She also reached the semifinals of Roland Garros, which – as it turned out – was her best Grand Slam performance of her career. The world's top twenty was within reach, and in 2017 she also won prestigious titles in Nuremberg and Gstaad. If Bertens hadn't made a definitive breakthrough in 2016 and 2017, she did so in 2018. That year, she won three major titles. She won on the clay courts of Charleston, and also secured major victories on the hard courts of Cincinnati and Seoul, South Korea, after which she entered the world's top ten.
2019 also saw significant success, as Bertens continued to prove she truly belonged in the world's top ten. She won the tournament in St. Petersburg by defeating Donna Vekic in the final, and three months later, she achieved the biggest victory of her career by winning the prestigious Madrid tournament. This tournament is considered one of the most important preparation tournaments for Roland Garros and, without losing a single set, earned Bertens the most prize money of all the tournaments she played. At that time, Bertens reached fourth place in the WTA rankings, the highest ranking ever for a Dutch woman. After achieving some good results in 2019 and successfully defending her title in St. Petersburg in 2020, Bertens' career began to decline, partly due to injuries.
Farewell to the sport with a heavy heart
After her second consecutive title in St. Petersburg, Bertens suffered numerous physical ailments, and these injuries hampered her results. She reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros one more time, but was increasingly eliminated in the opening stages of tournaments and ultimately decided to end her tennis career after the 2021 Olympic Games. In an emotional statement, she explained that her body was no longer able to handle the sport's demanding physical and mental demands. Therefore, she wanted to leave the sport before she completely lost interest. This led to a flurry of reactions from the tennis world, demonstrating that Bertens had captured the hearts of many sports fans during her successful career. Ultimately, Bertens won no fewer than ten singles and ten doubles titles at the highest level.
Best Australian Open result: Fourth round (2020)
Best result at Roland Garros: Semi-final (2016)
Best Wimbledon result: Quarterfinals (2018)
Best US Open result: Third round (2018 and 2019)
