‘The tank is quite empty,’ says Kiki Bertens as she announces 2021 will be her final season

Kiki Bertens has announced she will hang up her tennis racket in 2021 with the former world No 4 admitting that the satisfaction she gets from putting in the hard work “is no longer there”.
The Dutchwoman has struggled with injury the past few seasons and, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, she has played only a handful of tournaments since the start of 2020.
Bertens, who lost in the first round of the French Open a fortnight ago, has won 10 WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career-high of fourth in the WTA Rankings in 2019.
Her best Grand Slam result was a semi-final run at Roland Garros in 2016 while she also made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon two years later.
An Achilles injury meant she missed the bulk of the 2020 season and the start of this campaign and the 29-year-old admits the passion is no longer there.
“Hi everyone, I want to share with all of you that I have decided this year will be the last season of my tennis career,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I have always demanded the maximum of myself, but the tank is quite empty. 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. 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 💪”
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
Latest
-
News
Novak Djokovic finds one word to sum up his Ryder Cup experience
Novak Djokovic was a big presence at the event as he took part in the pre-tournament All-Star match at the Ryder Cup.
-
ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz’s Shanghai Masters draw revealed as he eyes Novak Djokovic’s No 1 ranking
Carlos Alcaraz has an open door to make up ground in his effort to finish as world No 1 for a second successive season.
-
Tennis News
Jack Draper reveals why he is a much better player in honest confession
Jack Draper insists that hard times breed better men.
-
Tennis News
Jannik Sinner reveals thinking behind changes to his team and dual coaches
Jannik Sinner has revealed why he has two coaches.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz insists players have to adapt to big fuzzy balls
Carlos Alcaraz believes that players need to adapt to different types of balls if they want to be a top contender.
-
WTA Tour
What is Tokyo champion Veronika Kudermetova’s connection to Russian army club CSKA?
Veronika Kudermetova has distanced herself from Russian Army sports club CSKA.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz matches another Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal record with latest win
Alcaraz became the first player to earn 60 tour-level wins in 2023 as he beat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-2 in Beijing.
-
Tennis News
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa give their fans the update they wanted
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have served up the tennis love story of 2023.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz reveals the nickname has given himself and explains why he is known as ‘Carlitos’
The Wimbledon champion is known as ‘Carlitos’ to his friends and the Spanish tennis community always addresses him by that name.
-
ATP Tour
Alexander Zverev becomes the latest player to hit out at tennis chiefs over big issue
Calls for an end to late night matches in tennis grow as Alexander Zverev asks more questions.