Kiki Bertens Bio: Injury, Surgery, Ranking, Baby & Wedding

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Kiki Bertens is a professional tennis player from the Netherlands who competes in the Women’s Tennis Association. In 2019, the WTA ranked her at number 4, which is her career highest. 

Moreover, the number 4 ranking also made her the highest-ranking Dutch tennis player ever. Currently, she is ranked at number 11. 

Besides that, the tennis player won her first Premier and Premier-5 titles in 2018. The same year WTA honored her with the Most Improved Player of the Year award. 

The following year, Bertens won her first Premier Mandatory title after defeating four former Grand Slam champions. Not to mention, she has ten WTA Single Titles under her arms. 

Kiki Bertens and Serena Williams
Kiki Bertens Shaking Hands With Serena Williams

The athlete also played in the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she represented The United States team. Furthermore, she started her journey toward becoming a professional tennis player when she was only six years old.

Thereafter, she turned pro in 2011. Her then-coach, Van der Brugghen, saw great potential in her.

Likewise, she is very hard-working, dedicated, and has a great work ethic. As of now, her coach is a former Dutch tennis player Elise Tamaëla. 

Before getting into details about the Dutch tennis player’s life and career, here are some quick facts about her.

Quick Facts

Full Name Kiki Bertens
Birth Date 10 December 1991
Birth Place Wateringen, Netherlands
Nick Name None
Religion Christian
Nationality Dutch
Ethnicity Dutch
Horoscope Sagittarius
Coach Elise Tamaëla
Father’s Name Rob Bertens
Mother’s Name Doré Bertens
Siblings Two sisters; Joyce and Daisy
Age 32 years old (As of July 2021)
Height 6 ft (1.82 m)
Weight 152 lbs (69 kg)
Hair Color Blonde
Eye Color Blue
Build Athletic
Profession Tennis Player
Current Ranking 11
Plays  Right-handed
Active Years 2011 – Present
Marital Status Unmarried
Husband Remko De Rijke
Kids None
Career Earnings $11,452,182
Social Media Instagram, Twitter
Merchandise Autographed Photo
Official Website kikibertens.nl
Last Updated March, 2024

Kiki Bertens | Early Life, Family, And Education

Kiki Bertens was born in Wateringen, Netherlands. Her parents are Rob Bertens and Doré Bertens. 

Moreover, the tennis player has two sisters named Joyce and Daisy. She grew up in a loving and supportive household. 

Likewise, her mom and dad always encouraged her to pursue her dreams. The Dutch player is quite close to both of her sisters. 

Furthermore, Kiki started playing tennis at the age of six. She used to play at ATV Berkenrode club, where her aunt and uncle played. 

Kiki Bertens Family
Kiki Bertens Family

At the club, Coach Martin van der Brugghen trained her. From a young age, Martin realized that she had excellent skills, and with consistent efforts, she could compete professionally. 

Hence, he coached her on very little money as he was more curious about how far she could go and what she could achieve.

Despite reasonable efforts, the athlete did not receive much attention from the Dutch tennis federation.

Similarly, she did not play in the ITF Junior Circuit. However, the former number 4 player did make an appearance at the Junior Fed Cup in 2007.

Besides that, there is not much information regarding her educational background. Nevertheless, some sources report that she attended a local school in the Netherlands. 

Kiki Bertens | Age, Height, And Weight

Since the tennis player was born on December 10th, 1991, she is 32 years old. As an athlete, Kiki takes excellent care of her health and diet. 

Hence, she is pretty fit. Besides that, Bertens is 6 feet tall and weighs 152 lbs, i.e., 69 kg.

Workout Routine

Kiki Bertens’s training regimen mostly includes two to four hours of playing tennis and two hours in the gym every day, with one day of rest every week.

Well, she works out with her husband, Remko de Rijke, who is her physiotherapist, fitness coach, and hitting partner. 

As Kiki explained, instead of going for all at once, she trains on one aspect and continues until she gets better at it. Alongside power and speed, she focuses on her endurance, balance, strength, and coordination.

Additionally, to add to her extra cardio workout, she involves in the treadmill and cycling intervals every other day. Not to mention, yoga is a must for her. 

Diet Plan

As much consciousness Kiki has in her workout, she also depicts the same level in her diet. As she stated, her breakfast usually includes oatmeal, fruit, and eggs. During her matches, when she requires extra carbs, she munches on rice.

Likewise, she eats a lot of chicken and vegetables. Then, before any of her matches, she goes for plain pasta, a smoothie with soy milk, fruit, and Orangefit protein afterward.

Kiki Bertens | Tennis Career

Debut And First WTA Title

At the start of the 2012 season, she made her debut at the Australian Open, where she played against top seed Vesna Dolonc. Bertens won the match after Vesna retired. 

Thereafter, she competed in her first Fed Cup with the Dutch team. She also won an ITF singles title that year.

Initially, the Dutch athlete failed to qualify for the WTA Tournament held in Copenhagen. However, after defeating wild card Intissar Massif, she made it to her first WTA final. 

After defeating many players, Kiki became the first Dutch female player since 2006 to win a WTA singles tournament. Moreover, it was her first time winning the Women’s Tennis Association title.

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Second Title, Grand Slam Semifinal, and Summer Olympics

In 2015, the athlete changed her coach, and former Dutch tennis player Raemon Sluiter coached her. Furthermore, she kicked off her 2016 season at the Auckland Open in New Zealand.

The same year, she earned two vital wins at the Fed Cup after beating Russian players Ekaterina Makarova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. After that, Kiki lost to Naomi Osaka in the Mexican Open’s first round.

The tennis player won her second WTA title at the Nuremberg Cup. Moreover, she showed significant improvements at the 2016 French Open. 

Dutch Player Kiki Bertens
Dutch Tennis Player Kiki Bertens

Bertens defeated No. 3 seed Angelique Kerber, No. 29 seed Daria Kasatkina, No. 15 seed Madison Keys, No. 8 seed Timea Bacsinszky, and Camila Giorgi.

Her victories paved the way to her very first Grand Slam semifinals.

However, she faced top seed Serena Williams, in the semifinals. On top of that, the Dutch athlete was playing with a calf injury. 

Hence, her defeat was inevitable. Nevertheless, she entered the top 30 rankings for the first time in her career. The Netherlands resident also competed in the Summer Olympics that year.

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More WTA Titles, Premier Titles, And Premier-5 Titles

The 2017 season wasn’t very fruitful for Kiki. She faced a lot of disappointments at the Australian, French, and US Open. 

Nevertheless, the right-handed player managed to reach the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open. Likewise, she retained her title at the Nuremberg Cup, which was her third WTA singles title. 

Furthermore, the athlete also reached the quarterfinals at the Luxembourg Open. Shortly after that, she won her fourth WTA title.

Not to mention, her singles rank dropped from 22 to 31. However, the Dutch player worked hard on herself, her skills, and her techniques and came bigger and better for the 2018 season. 

Kiki Bertens Winning Nurnberger Cup
Former world No.4 Player, Kiki Bertens, Holding The Nurnberger Cup

Moreover, she won her first Premier title that year at the Charleston Open. She earned the title by defeating German tennis player Julia Görges

At the 2018 French Open, Bertens won against top players like Venus Williams and Karolína Plíšková. Similarly, she defeated ninth seed Karolína again at the Canadian Open. 

The Dutch player also eighth-seed Petra Kvitová. However, she eventually lost to former No.1 player Ashleigh Barty

Nevertheless, Kiki won the biggest title of her career at the 2018 Western & Southern Open. She earned victory against four top-10 players to receive the title.

WTA awarded her Most Improved Player of the Year for her exceptional improvement in the 2018 season.

Premier Mandatory Title, Top-5 ranking, Injury & Surgery

The 2019 season served as a blessing to the Dutch tennis player. She had a good start at the Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open, and Charleston Open.

The 2019 Madrid Open was particularly significant for the athlete. She won her first three matches and quickly moved to the quarterfinals, where she faced Petra Kvitová.

After defeating Petra, the right-handed player moved to the semifinals and won against American tennis player Sloane Stephens for the first time in her career. 

As a result, she got into the Madrid Open’s final game, where she played against world No.3 Simona Halep. Kiki defeated Halep in straight sets and earned her first Premier Mandatory title. 

Not to mention, she faced and won against four former Grand Slam champions to claim the title. Likewise, Bertens became the first player to win the Madrid Open without dropping a single set. 

Hence, by the end of the season, her rank rose to No.4. The rank is the Dutch player’s highest rank to this date. 

Besides that, she started the 2021 season late due to her Achilles Tendon injury. Kiki stated that the injury was bothering her for some time now.

Hence, to play pain-free and prevent the situation from worsening, the WTA player had her surgery done. She also posted a photo of her leg in a cast after the surgery on Instagram. 

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Kiki Bertens | Playing Styles 

During Bertens’ career, her greatest asset was her forehand, and she was an aggressive player. As a baseline player, she portrayed exceptional defensive skills. 

Well, among her hand skills, she had an amazing two-handed backhand; however, her backhand was less reliable than her forehand. As per the records, her highest first serve delivered at 110 mph (177 km/h), while she usually averaged 105 mph (169 km/h).

Additionally, she was well-known for her drop shot and often used it to distract her opponents. Among all her beautiful play works, her personal favorite was her clay-court game. 

Kiki Bertens | Wedding, Husband, And Baby

The Dutch athlete is married to Remko De Rijke. Her husband is a physiotherapist. More specifically, he was Berten’s physiotherapist while she played tennis. 

Although not sure, many sources claim that the two fell in love at one of their appointments. Shortly after that, the couple started dating. 

In 2019, Remko proposed to the tennis player while they were on vacation in Bali, Indonesia. The pair announced their engagement on their social media accounts. 

Kiki Bertens Husband
Kiki Bertens Husband

Thereafter, Bertens and Rijke got married on November 30th, 2019. Furthermore, they had a beautiful wedding filled with family, friends, and loved ones. 

As of now, they do not have any kids. Both of them are very focused and content with their respective careers. 

Kiki Bertens | Net Worth And Salary

The athlete has earned most of her wealth through her career in the Women’s Tennis Association. Moreover, she has made $11,452,182 in prize money. 

Hence, her net worth might be over $9 million as of 2024. 

Besides that, she earns $2,257,793 in salary annually while earning $250,000 monthly.

Many well-known brands and companies sponsor the former number 4 player. Likewise, tennis equipment manufacturer company called Wilson and sportswear manufacturer brand Fila endorse Bertens. 

Similarly, ehealth88 also endorses the right-handed player. Previously, Virtuoso and Mizuno Europe used to sponsor her. 

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Kiki Bertens | Social Media Presence

The WTA player is quite active on various social media platforms. Hence, she has an Instagram account with over 90 thousand followers. 

Bertens mostly shares her life as a professional tennis player through her handle. Likewise, she has many pictures of her on the tennis court. 

Recently, she posted a picture of her at the Miami Open. Kiki is usually practicing or traveling to compete in most of her posts. However, she also has photos of her hitting the gym. 

Furthermore, the tennis player has pictures with her friends and family. Bertens loves to show off her hubby in her social media posts. 

The couple looks very happy together. Besides that, Kiki is on Twitter with 38.3 thousand followers. 

Many well-known tennis players and athletes follow the Dutch player. She usually tweets tennis-related news, events, and highlights on her Twitter handle. 

Common Queries: 

What happened to Kiki Bertens?

At the French Open 2020 in Paris, the tennis player left the clay court in a wheelchair after earning a victory against Sara Errani. She said that she had a “total body cramp” and could not leave the court on her legs. 

However, the defeated Italian player Sara had difficulty believing that she was in pain. Errani said, “If she wins, she wins. But, do it without all this acting.” 

Furthermore, Sara added that Bertens looked fine in the locker room and the players’ restaurant just an hour past the match.

Kiki, who claimed that she was in the treatment room for 45 minutes after the game, said, “Maybe she [Sara Errani] should have been in there, and then she should have seen what happened.

What is Kiki Bertens’s real name?

The Dutch athlete’s real name is Kiki Bertens. Many people think that Kiki is her nickname. However, it isn’t true.

Who is Kiki Bertens engaged to?

Bertens is engaged and married to her physiotherapist Remko De Rijke.

Did Kiki Bertens retire?

No, the WTA player did not retire. However, she is set to miss the start of the 2021 season due to her Achilles injury.

What is Kiki Bertens’ career statistics like?

Altogether, Kiki Bertens stands with a career record of 443–261 (62.9%) for her singles match, while she had a career record of 183–102 (64.2%) for her doubles match. Both in singles and doubles matches, Kiki has bagged ten titles in total. 

Likewise, her highest ranking in a singles match was No. 4 (13 May 2019). Her highest ranking in a doubles match was No. 16 (16 April 2018). 

Urusha Niroula
Urusha Niroulahttps://playersbio.com/
My name is Urusha Niroula. I have been working as a writer at Playersbio.com since September 2020. I have always had a great fondness for English writing, speaking, and reading. Furthermore, my hobbies include going on walks and short rides, watching Netflix, and sometimes sitting idly.

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