Former world No.4 Kiki Bertens says she is ready for the ‘next chapter’ in her life after announcing her intention to retire from professional tennis later this year.
Bertens, who is the highest ranked Dutch player in WTA history, said her decision to step away from the sport at the age of 29 has been influenced by her recent battle with an Achilles injury. She was forced to miss the first three months of the season due to the problem and since then has won only two out of seven matches played on the Tour. At the French Open she lost in the first round for the first time since 2015.
“I want to share with all of you that I have decided this year will be the last season of my tennis career,” the world No.20 wrote on social media. “I have always demanded the maximum of myself, but the tank is quite empty.”
Bertens has won 10 WTA titles during her career with five of those occurring at Premier events. She has recorded 23 wins over top 10 opposition and ended three consecutive seasons (2018-2020) inside the world’s top 10. In the majors she has made 33 main draw appearances with her standout result being a run to the semi-finals of the 2016 French Open. She also reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2018.
The Dutchwoman is also an accomplished doubles player and has been ranked as high as 16th in the discipline. She has won a total of 10 doubles trophies with nine of those being alongside Sweden’s Johanna Larsson who retired herself last year. Her other triumph was with compatriot Demi Schuurs. Bertens and Larsson were also runners-up at the 2017 WTA Finals.
“The balance of the hard work I put in day in and day out and the satisfaction I get out of it at the end of the day is no longer there,” she said. “Also, I am more than ready for the chapter that comes next after this. The next few tournaments to come are Eastbourne, Wimbledon and the Olympics. We will decide after if my body recovers well enough to play the rest of the season. I will do everything I can to end my career in the best way possible.”
Speaking to WTA insider, Bertens admits that she might have been able to continue playing for a couple more years if the COVID-19 hadn’t stopped her momentum on the Tour last season. During the Tour break she returned home but when it was time to get back her Achilles continued to bother her.
“If the 100% you give every day is not enough anymore, and the work doesn’t give you the satisfaction anymore, you have to ask yourself why am I still doing this? On that ‘why’ I didn’t find the answers. For me then, it was a clear decision. It’s enough for me. Enough is enough,” she said.
“”I talked about it with Elise [Tamaela, coach] and Remko [de Rijke, husband and trainer] and after Paris I made the decision that this is not how I want to continue my career because I don’t want to end it where it’s all only frustrating. I want to end it in a nice way and on my own terms. That’s why I decided this will be my last season.”
Bertens will return to action next week in Eastbourne where she is set to be unseeded in the draw.
