Since that unforgettable spring of 2016, everything has changed for her in terms of expectations and media attention.
“I wish I could walk around the tennis park in recent years to watch a match here and there, because no one really knows who I am. I loved anonymity. I remember very well that after Roland Garros in 2016 everyone started at Wimbledon. She asked me if I could come in To the semi-finals again. I don’t miss that hustle for a second,” Bertens says now four months into her retirement.
No regrets of any kind
It’s obvious when Bertens tells her story. She is a retired professional tennis player. Past Perfect. The best Dutch tennis player ever shows no regrets whatsoever about choosing to say goodbye to her professional career in August after the Olympics.
“It’s going well,” says Bertens. “I’m enjoying it. The idea that nothing should be done and anything is possible. It feels so great.” “I no longer have to work every day, so to speak. I no longer have to take care of my diet. It feels so good.”
The fact that Bertens saw life as a professional tennis player as a burden partly becomes clear when she realizes that her career is over. “I was quite mushy for the first weeks after my goodbye, because all the tiredness showed up. After that I can enjoy myself,” she says.
