With her second consecutive Top 10 season on the WTA all wrapped up, Dutch star Kiki Bertens celebrated a momentous occasion in her personal life during the off-season.
The World No.9 took to Instagram to announce her wedding to Dutch tennis coach Remko de Rijke, which took place on Saturday, November 30th.
The 27-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of World No.4 earlier this year, ended last season by announcing her engagement to de Rijke. 12 months later, the powerful server tied the knot with her countryman, who has also served as part of Bertens’ team as a physiotherapist, fitness coach and hitting partner.
"What a day!!" captioned the top-ranked Dutchwoman as she provided a series of photos from the nuptials on her social media. Her fellow players took the time to congratulate her in the post as well.
"Unbelievable day...Thanks again for letting me share this moment with you," replied Julia Goerges. The German is an occasional doubles partner of Bertens, having most recently played three events alongside the bride in 2017.
Current doubles World No.2 Kristina Mladenovic also wished the newlyweds well in response. "Congratulations to both of you...wishing you all the best only! Looking forward seeing some more pictures in Australia!"
Bertens talked about looking forward to the big day when she was an alternate for the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, where she was the only player to defeat World No.1 and eventual champion Ashleigh Barty, in the round-robin portion.
Despite playing a nearly non-stop schedule during the last two months of the season, Bertens was unfazed after her final match of the year, a loss via retirement to Belinda Bencic in Shenzhen.
"It's going to be challenging with the dress fitting and stuff like that," Bertens smiled, in her press conference after that match. "But they promised everything is going to work out well."
"I have some great planners back at home," the Dutch player continued. "My family did a lot. I think everything is going to be fine. We're just looking forward to a great day with our family and friends."
Bertens finished the year as World No.9 for the second consecutive season, picking up WTA singles titles at the Mutua Madrid Open and in St. Petersburg. "I've learned so much again this year about myself," Bertens added, after the Bencic match.
"My confidence grew a lot I would say after the last year. I'm really proud I'm still in the top 10, which was a goal in the beginning of the season. I knew it was going to be really tough. But I'm still here, so really proud of that."
