Kiki Bertens to miss Australian Open: ‘The only way for me to play without pain again was to have surgery’

WTA Tour

Shahida Jacobs
October 28, 2020

World No 9 Kiki Bertens will miss the start of the 2021 season, including the Australian Open, after she underwent surgery on her troublesome Achilles.

The 10-time WTA Tour singles winner has been struggling with the injury throughout the year after the problem initially flared up during the Adelaide International at the start of 2020.

She only played three tournaments after tennis resumed in August following the coronavirus layoff, reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros before being beaten by Italian Martina Trevisan.

Bertens announced on Instagram on Tuesday that she had little choice but to undergo surgery.

View this post on Instagram

Hoi allemaal, Zoals jullie misschien al wisten liep ik al erg lang met klachten aan mijn achillespees. Dit belemmerde mij de laatste tijd teveel in trainingen en wedstrijden. De enige mogelijkheid om weer het maximale uit mijn trainingen en wedstrijden te halen was om me te laten opereren. Dit heb ik dan nu ook gedaan. Hierdoor mis ik het begin van 2021 en zal dus niet deelnemen in Australië. Ik ga er alles aan doen om zo snel mogelijk sterker en fitter terug te komen💪 Some of you might know that I already had an Achilles injury for some time. The only possibility for me to play without pain again and get the maximum out of trainings and matches was to get a surgery. So that’s what I did now! I will miss the start of 2021, so unfortunately I won’t be competing in Australia. I will try my best to come back stronger as fast as I can 💪 can’t wait to see you guys on tour soon again!

A post shared by Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) on Oct 27, 2020 at 7:43am PDT

“Some of you might know that I already had an Achilles injury for some time,” she wrote. “The only possibility for me to play without pain again and get the maximum out of trainings and matches was to get a surgery. So that’s what I did now!

“I will miss the start of 2021, so unfortunately I won’t be competing in Australia. I will try my best to come back stronger as fast as I can 💪 can’t wait to see you guys on tour soon again!”

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Kiki Bertens