Kiki Bertens (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈkikiˈbɛrtəns]; born 10 December 1991) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Her career-highsingles ranking was world No. 4, which she reached on 13 May 2019, becoming the highest-ranked Dutch female player ever.[1]Her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 16, she achieved in April 2018. She won ten singles and ten doubles titles on theWTA Tour, including2018 Cincinnati Open and2019 Madrid Open. Bertens was widely regarded as aclay court specialist, but also was successful onhardcourt.
Bertens was born on 10 December 1991 inWateringen nearThe Hague, but grew up in the town ofBerkel en Rodenrijs.[2] She has two sisters, one older and one younger. Bertens started playing tennis at age six at ATV Berkenrode, a tennis club where her aunt and uncle played.[3][4] She has been coached by Martin van der Brugghen at the club since she was seven years old. Van der Brugghen recognized her ability and continued to coach her primarily to help her reach her potential. He said: "In the youth we have supported her very much. I taught her for little money because I find it interesting to see how far you can get with someone." Bertens received little support from the Dutch tennis federation.[5] She did not play on theITF Junior Circuit except for one appearance at theJunior Fed Cup in 2007.[6]
Bertens started the year playing the qualifiers for theAustralian Open. In the first round against top seedVesna Dolonts, she won the first ten games before Dolonts retired. In the second, Bertens lost toOlga Savchuk in a close three-set match.[7] The following week, in a $25k event in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Bertens retired with a thigh injury in the first round againstCorinna Dentoni.[8]
She played in theFed Cup for the Dutch team, competing in Group 1 of Europe/Africa. She partnered withDemi Schuurs in the doubles match against the Portuguese team of Bárbara Luz and Margarida Moura and won in two sets. Bertens won her singles rubber against Estonia's Eva Paalma and withMichaëlla Krajicek double-bageledAnett Kontaveit and Tatjana Vorobjova.[9] Late February she played the qualifications for WTA tournament ofAcapulco. She defeated Mexican wild cardAna Paula de la Peña in the first round but lost in the second qualification round toSesil Karatantcheva.[10]
At a $25k event in Irapuato, Mexico, Bertens won her second ITF singles title, beatingYaroslava Shvedova in the final, propelling her to a new career high in singles ranking. The following week, she made it to the quarterfinals of the $25k tournament in Poza Rica, but her winning streak was snapped byJana Čepelová. At the $25k tournament in Bath the week afterwards, Bertens won the title, defeatingAnnika Beck in the final in three sets, her fourth three-set match in a row. Bertens failed to qualify for the WTA Tour tournament inCopenhagen, falling toJohanna Konta.
In the qualifying for the WTA Tour event in Fes, she beat Moroccan wildcard Intissar Rassif without dropping a game. She reached her first WTA tournament final in this tournament, defeatingUrszula Radwańska, sixth seedChanelle Scheepers,Garbiñe Muguruza, and fifth seedSimona Halep along the way. Prior to this event, she had never won a WTA singles match in the main draw. In the final, she defeatedLaura Pous Tió, winning the last eight games.[11][12] She became the first Dutch female player since Michaëlla Krajicek in 2006 to win a WTA singles tournament.[13]
At theFrench Open, Bertens was seeded No. 1 in qualifying and defeated Annika Beck in the first qualifying round, saving a matchpoint in the third set. She defeatedOlga Puchkova in the second round and outclassedMădălina Gojnea in the final qualifying round. This meant Bertens' first main-draw appearance at aGrand Slam tournament. In the first round, she lost in three sets toChristina McHale.
Bertens debuted atWimbledon in her first-round match against the No. 19 seedLucie Šafářová and won in two sets, her first win at a Grand Slam event. In the second round, she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova in straight sets. Bertens then made a brief appearance at an ITF tournament in Biella, but lost to homeplayerNastassja Burnett in the first round. This was followed by first-round losses in Palermo and Båstad toAlexandra Cadanțu andPolona Hercog, respectively.
Bertens returned to form during the American hardcourt circuit. InMontreal, she qualified by defeatingVladimíra Uhlířová,Zhang Shuai, saving two matchpoints, andAlexa Glatch. In the main draw, Bertens caused an upset, defeating former world No. 3 (then ranked 22)Nadia Petrova, coming back from a large deficit. In the second round,Caroline Wozniacki proved too strong, and Bertens lost in straight sets. Like in Montreal, Bertens qualified for the main draw in Cincinnati, defeatingAravane Rezaï andYulia Putintseva. However, in the main event she succumbed to fellow qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva. In Dallas, she retired with a shoulder injury against Polona Hercog.
At the US Open, Bertens exacted revenge on Christina McHale, knocking out the American in the first round but suffering a three-set loss to Olga Puchkova in the second round. Bertens stated afterwards she had been nervous during the match. At the WTA tournament in Seoul, Bertens defeatedVania King andSílvia Soler Espinosa from Spain to reach the quarterfinals. She faced EstonianKaia Kanepi next and lost in straight sets. After a second-round appearance in Linz she ended her season with a first-round loss in Luxembourg due to fatigue.
Seeded fourth for qualifying at theParis indoor event, Bertens reached the final round where she lost toVirginie Razzano.[17] However, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser. She reached the semifinals with wins over Tamira Paszek, fourth seedDominika Cibulková, and sixth seed Lucie Šafářová. In the semifinals, Bertens faced top-seeded Sara Errani. Errani led 5–0 in the first set when Bertens retired due to a back injury.[18]
Bertens started the year inAuckland, where she entered the main draw as a qualifier. She lost in the first round toBarbora Strýcová. At theHobart International, she reached the quarterfinal, losing there to Dominika Cibulková. She lost in the first round of the Australian Open toLaura Siegemund.
Bertens then earned two important wins in the Fed Cup tie against Russia, beatingEkaterina Makarova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. They ended up beating the 2015 finalists.[20] After that, Bertens had early defeats inAcapulco (losing toNaomi Osaka in the first round) and inMonterrey (losing in the last round of the qualifying toPauline Parmentier). After enteringIndian Wells' main draw as a qualifier, she lost in the first round toCoCo Vandeweghe. Prior to theMiami Open, she played at theSan Antonio Open where she reached the round of 16. Then, in Miami, she once again reached the main draw through qualifying and earned wins overZheng Saisai and No. 25 seedAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova before retiring in the third set in her third-round match againstAngelique Kerber.
Playing for the Netherlands at theFed Cup semifinals againstFrance, Bertens kept her winning streak by beatingCaroline Garcia andKristina Mladenovic, both in straight sets; nonetheless, it was not enough as France won the tie in the doubles decider. After that, she started her clay-court season with a semifinals run inRabat, only losing toMarina Erakovic.
AtNuremberg, Bertens won her second WTA singles title by defeatingMariana Duque Mariño in the final in straight sets.[21] In the second round, she had defeated top-seededRoberta Vinci which was her first win against a top-10 player. And it was her first title since 2012.[22] She also won the doubles title alongsideJohanna Larsson.
At theFrench Open, Bertens avenged her Miami loss by upsetting No. 3 seed Angelique Kerber in three sets. She then beatCamila Giorgi, 29th seedDaria Kasatkina, 15th seedMadison Keys, and No. 8 seedTimea Bacsinszky en route to her first Grand Slam semifinal.[23] In her semifinal match against the top seedSerena Williams, Kiki played with a left calf injury[24] which made it difficult for her to move forward to Williams' drop shots. Bertens never took advantage of a medical time-out or took trainer treatment. Despite having two set points and being up by a break in both sets, she lost in straight sets. However, she entered the top 30 for the first time in her career.
Prior toWimbledon, Bertens was scheduled to play at theRosmalen Open; due to the same injury that harmed her left calf, she was forced to pull out of the tournament. After a few weeks of recovery, Bertens kicked off her campaign at the third Grand Slam event of the year and defeatedJeļena Ostapenko andMona Barthel to reach the third round of the grass tournament for the first time. She then lost toSimona Halep.
Her next tournament was the inauguralLadies Championship Gstaad, where she reached the final. She lost one set toTamira Paszek en route. In the final, Bertens lost in three sets toViktorija Golubic. Despite the defeat, she climbed to No. 21 in the rankings.
Despite winning her second title of her career this year and making it to the semifinals of the French Open, Bertens lost in the first round of six straight tournaments, notably including theRio Olympics andUS Open. As a result of her inconsistency, she decided not to compete at theWuhan Open andChina Open. She made her return at theLinz Open. However, she lost in the first round toSorana Cîrstea but won the doubles with Johanna Larsson. Her next event was theLuxembourg Open. She had her best result since Wimbledon by making it to the semifinals, losing toMonica Niculescu. However, she did not go home empty handed. Bertens and Larsson won their second doubles title in a row. Bertens ended her season at theWTA Elite Trophy where she lost both of her matches with close scorelines, againstElina Svitolina andElena Vesnina.
2017: Two WTA titles, Tour Championships doubles final
Bertens started her year off with a first-round loss toLauren Davis atAuckland. However, Bertens and Larsson won the doubles title. Kiki was seeded first atHobart. She had routine wins over Annika Beck andGalina Voskoboeva in the first two rounds, but lost to qualifier and eventual championElise Mertens. She continued to struggle during her next four tournaments, and lost in the first round of all of them including theAustralian Open.
She then traveled to the United States for theIndian Wells andMiami Open, and lost to Timea Bacsinszky at Indian Wells in a hard-fought three-setter, and in the second round in Miami to qualifierRisa Ozaki.
Bertens had a strong start into clay-court season. She reached the third round of both theCharleston Open and theCopa Colsanitas, then lost in the first round of thePorsche Grand Prix. However, she made it to the quarterfinals of theMadrid Open, defeating former top-ten players Makarova and Bacsinszky along the way, before losing toAnastasija Sevastova. Bertens had an even more impressive journey during theItalian Open where she made it to the semifinals, eventually losing to Simona Halep. She defended her title inNuremberg by defeatingBarbora Krejčíková in the final – her third career singles title. After a strong showing during the clay-court season, she entered theFrench Open and beatAjla Tomljanović in the first round, but was upset byCiCi Bellis in the second.
Bertens started the grass-court season with two straight first-round losses at theRosmalen Open andMallorca Open. TheWimbledon Championships proved to be unsuccessful as well as she lost in the first round to Sorana Cîrstea.After a disappointing French Open and Wimbledon, Bertens rebounded atGstaad where she claimed the title by beating Anett Kontaveit in the final. She also claimed the doubles title alongside Johanna Larsson.
Bertens had a poorUS Open Series as she lost in the second round of theCincinnati Open to Johanna Konta. She followed this up with a first-round loss at theConnecticut Open in Cincinnati to qualifier Elise Mertens. She was then defeated in the first round of theUS Open byMaria Sakkari, in straight sets.
AtKorea Open, Bertens was seeded second, but lost in the first round against compatriotRichèl Hogenkamp. She lost in the second round of theWuhan Open to qualifierVarvara Lepchenko, and in the first round of both theChina Open andAustrian Open. After a string of early-round losses, Bertens reached the quarterfinals of theLuxembourg Open. Seeded second, she beatDenisa Allertová in the first round, in the second she beat Andrea Petkovic, but fell to the eventual winnerCarina Witthöft. Bertens competed in by far her biggest final of her career at theWTA Finals with partner Johanna Larsson. They had a big win over the second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the semifinals. However, they lost toTímea Babos andAndrea Hlaváčková in the final. Bertens ended the year ranked 31st, down from 22nd the year prior. However, her ranking in doubles reached a new career high at 19th.
2018: First Premier and Premier 5 titles, top-10 debut
Bertens opened the year with a first-round loss at theBrisbane International toAna Konjuh. However, she won the doubles title with fellow Dutch playerDemi Schuurs. She followed this up by winning her first match of the year at theSydney International over qualifierKristie Ahn. However, she lost to the top seed Garbiñe Muguruza. At theAustralian Open Bertens beat Americans CiCi Bellis andNicole Gibbs in the first two rounds before falling to world No. 2 and eventual winner, Caroline Wozniacki.[25]
In April, she won her first Premier title by defeatingJulia Görges in straight sets in the final of theCharleston Open.[26] At theMadrid Open, she defeated Maria Sakkari, and Anastasija Sevastova, and world No. 2, Caroline Wozniacki, in the first, second and third round respectively. In the quarterfinals, she upset Maria Sharapova. She reached her first Premier Mandatory final by defeatingCaroline Garcia but fell toPetra Kvitová in the final.
At theFrench Open, Bertens beatAryna Sabalenka andAliaksandra Sasnovich easily in two sets before falling to Angelique Kerber in two tight tie-break sets. During the grass-court season, Bertens impressed at Wimbledon with wins over top players like ninth seedVenus Williams and seventh seed Karolína Plíšková. In the quarterfinals, she lost to Julia Görges but achieved a career best at Wimbledon so far by reaching the last eight.
After Wimbledon, Bertens decided not to defend her title on the clay of Gstaad. She started the hardcourt season in Montreal at theCanadian Open where she made an impressive run, beating for the first time two top-ten players on hardcourt. She defeated ninth seed Karolína Plíšková and eighth seed Petra Kvitová before losing to 15th seedAshleigh Barty in the quarterfinals, her best performance in Montreal. The following week, she won the biggest title of her career inCincinnati, beating top-10 players Wozniacki, Svitolina, Kvitová and Halep along the way.
In September, she defeatedAjla Tomljanović in theKorea Open final for her second hardcourt title.[27] Bertens subsequently qualified for theWTA Finals for the first time, after Simona Halep withdrew from the tournament due to injury[28] where she reached the semifinals, losing to the eventual winner Elina Svitolina.
Kiki Bertens was named "Most Improved Player of the Year" for 2018 by the WTA.[29] She finished the year in the top 10 for the first time ranked No. 9 in the world.
2019: Premier Mandatory title, three finals, career-high ranking
She started off her season at theBrisbane International, beating Elise Mertens and losing toDonna Vekić. The following week, she reached the semifinals inSydney, losing to Ash Barty in three sets.[30] At theAustralian Open, she defeatedAlison Riske in the first round before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second. She reached her first final of the year in February, defeatingYsaline Bonaventure, Pavlyuchenkova and Aryna Sabalenka at theSt. Petersburg Trophy. In the final, she beat Vekić in straight sets.
AtIndian Wells, she reached the fourth round for the first time by beating Linette and Konta in straight sets, before falling to Muguruza in three long sets. Bertens went after a good run at Indian Wells toMiami where she reached the fourth round, after beatingWang Xiyu andViktória Kužmová, before losing to eventual winner Ash Barty.
Bertens started off her clay-court season at theCharleston Open as defending champion and reached the third round before losing her match against Maria Sakkari, in straight sets. She reached the semifinals at thePorsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, losing in three sets to Petra Kvitová. However, she bounced back at theMadrid Open, where she cruised through her first three matches againstKateřina Siniaková, Jeļena Ostapenko, and Anastasija Sevastova. In the quarterfinals, she avenged both the loss in last year's final and the loss in Stuttgart against Kvitová, beating the Czech, losing just five games. In the semifinals, she beatSloane Stephens for the first time in her career, reaching a second consecutive Madrid final. There, she beat world No. 3, Simona Halep, in straight sets, winning her first Premier Mandatory title, beating four former Grand Slam champions along the way and becoming the first to winMadrid without dropping a set. By doing so, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 4. She reached the semifinals atRome, defeating the world No. 1,Naomi Osaka, in the process, before losing to Johanna Konta. At theFrench Open, Bertens was forced to retire due to illness in her second-round match against Viktória Kužmová.
In the grass-court season, she reached the final of's-Hertogenbosch, where she lost toAlison Riske. She reached the semifinals ofEastbourne, where she lost to the eventual champion, Karolína Plíšková. AtWimbledon, she reached the third round, where she lost to Barbora Strýcová. Following Wimbledon, she enteredPalermo, where she reached the final, losing in three sets toJil Teichmann.
AtToronto, she defeatedFrancesca Di Lorenzo in the second round, before losing to the eventual champion,Bianca Andreescu. She then lost in the second round ofCincinnati to Venus Williams. At theUS Open, she defeatedPaula Badosa and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, before losing toJulia Görges. AtZhengzhou, she lost in her first match toAjla Tomljanović. She was defeated in her first match atOsaka by Pavlyuchenkova. She next lost in the third round ofWuhan to the defending, and eventual, champion Aryna Sabalenka, before reaching the semifinals ofBeijing, defeating Donna Vekić,Dayana Yastremska,Polona Hercog, andElina Svitolina, before losing to Ashleigh Barty. AtLinz, she reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to the eventual championCoco Gauff.
At theMoscow, she defeated Kaia Kanepi, before falling to Kristina Mladenovic. At theWTA Elite Trophy, Bertens reached the final, defeating both Vekić and Yastremska in the group stage, and Zheng Saisai in the semifinals, before losing to Sabalenka once again. At theWTA Finals, Bertens entered as an alternate following the withdrawal of Naomi Osaka due to injury. In the group stages, she won against world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty, in three sets, before retiring against Belinda Bencic. Bertens ended the year ranked No. 9 in the world.
On 1 November 2019, she announced via Instagram thatRaemon Sluiter would no longer be her coach, andElise Tamaëla, her interim coach at the time, would be her new coach.
2020: St. Petersburg defense, mixed results, injury
Bertens' first tournament of the year was atBrisbane, where she defeated Dayana Yastremska and Anett Kontaveit, before falling to Naomi Osaka. At theAustralian Open she reached the fourth round where she lost to eventual runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza, in straight sets. She next won both her matches at theFed Cup, defeating Aryna Sabalenka and Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She next defended her title atSt. Petersburg, defeating Veronika Kudermetova,Anastasia Potapova,Ekaterina Alexandrova, andElena Rybakina. AtDoha, she defeatedKarolína Muchová, before losing to Zheng Saisai; this was her final tournament before the WTA Tour was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Choosing to skip theUS Open, Bertens' first tournament was atRome, where she was defeated in the second round by Polona Hercog. She also lost in her first match atStrasbourg byJeļena Ostapenko. AtRoland Garros, she reached the fourth round, defeatingSara Errani in three tight sets in the second round which saw her leaving the court in a wheelchair.[31] After the match, Errani accused Bertens of faking her injury.[31] Bertens subsequently fell to another Italian playerMartina Trevisan in the fourth round and announced the following month that she would undergo surgery to treat an Achilles tendon injury, sidelining her for the remainder of the season.[32]
Bertens ended the year ranked No. 9 in the world for the second year in a row.
Bertens was sidelined for the start of the 2021 season, following surgery on her Achilles tendon at the end of 2020.[33] Her first tournament after recovery from her surgery was at theQatar Total Open. Seeded fifth, she lost in the first round to Jeļena Ostapenko.[34] Seeded fifth at theDubai Championships, she was defeated in the second round byTereza Martincová.[35] Seeded tenth inMiami, she lost in the second round to qualifierLiudmila Samsonova.[36] Playing for the Netherlands in theFed Cup tie against China, she beatWang Xinyu.[37] The Netherlands ended up winning the tie 3–2.[38]
Seeded seventh and the defending champion inMadrid, Bertens was defeated in the second round by Veronika Kudermetova.[39] As a result, her ranking dropped to No. 17. Seeded 16th at theFrench Open, she lost in the first round to Polona Hercog; her ranking dropped further to No. 20 on 14 June 2021.[40] This marked her first time outside the top 20 since June 2018. She then announced on 16 June 2021 that 2021 will be her final season, citing an inability to continue to compete to the highest level due to injuries, and that she would either retire following theOlympics, or at the end of the season.[41]
Bertens later clarified that she would end her career at theOlympic Games. Seeded 16th, she was defeated in the first round by eventual silver medalistMarkéta Vondroušová.[44] Her final tournament was the doubles draw at the same event, where she partnered Demi Schuurs. They won their first-round match against French pair Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, in three sets,[45] then lost to Elena Vesnina and Veronika Kudermetova, also in three sets.[46] Bertens retired from the tour ranked No. 24 in singles and 112 in doubles.
Bertens was a baseline player, who was noted for her ability to combine her exceptional defensive skills with an aggressive mindset. As she played aggressively, taking the ball early on the rise, she tended to hit large numbers of both winners and unforced errors. Bertens' greatest asset was her forehand, which was powerful and hit with heavy topspin, allowing her to hit winners from any position on the court. Her heavy topspin forehand had the added benefit of pushing her opponents behind the baseline, forcing them to play defensively from the first stroke.[47] Her two-handed backhand was also strong, and she was able to dictate play using this stroke; despite this, her backhand was less reliable than her forehand, and her backhand was responsible for the majority of the unforced errors she committed on the court. She was adept at applying slice to her backhand, which allowed her to break up the pace of baseline rallies, and draw unforced errors from more aggressive players. Her first serve was powerful, typically being delivered at 105 mph (169 km/h), and peaking at 110 mph (177 km/h), allowing her to serve aces, and dictate play from the first stroke of the rally. Bertens' second serve was less reliable, leading to a relatively high double fault count; throughout her career, however, Bertens began to develop a more effective kick serve, which minimised double faults.[48] Despite being an effective net player due to her doubles experience, Bertens rarely approached the net when playing singles, except to retrieve short balls, or to attack the net when the opportunity arose. Bertens possessed an exemplarydrop shot, and was one of the strongest exponents of this shot on the WTA Tour; this shot was especially effective on clay courts, where she would deploy the shot during long baseline exchanges, to surprise opponents and move them around the court. Due to her exceptional fitness, movement, fitness, footwork, and court coverage, Bertens was an adept counterpuncher, and these skills allowed her to execute her playing style with tremendous effect. Although Bertens experienced success on all surfaces, her favourite surface was clay, where the high bounce and slow speed suited her playing style; her clay court game was aided by her ability to slide and move effectively on the surface. Despite all these strengths, Bertens' game was heavily affected by nerves throughout her career, and her lack of Grand Slam success despite being one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour was credited to the nerves she felt when playing in front of large crowds.[49]
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Bertens' older sister, Joyce, works as a business consultant and helps manage her finances.[50]Bertens married her physiotherapist, Remko de Rijke, on 30 November 2019.[51] She announced her pregnancy in October 2021 and had her first child, Mats, April 3, 2022.[52] She gave birth to her second child, a girl, on June 28, 2024.[53]
On retirement, Bertens reflected on her personality "From a shy little girl, with lots of fears to an independent woman who played on the biggest stages," she wrote in July. "It's time to say goodbye now. Thanks to this beautiful sport I have learnt so much about myself, about the world and I have met so many incredible people. I will take this forever with me."[54]
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.