Recently retired Kiki Bertens announces growing family with husband Remko de Rijke

Two months after making her retirement official at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kiki Bertens revealed she and husband Remko de Rijke are expecting their first child in 2022.

“Big adventures, start small,” Bertens teased on Instagram with a photo of “April 2022” drawn in the sand.

A former world No. 4, Bertens has been beset by injuries since the COVID-19 lockdown ended last summer, and announced in June that 2021 would be her final season.

“I have always demanded the maximum of myself, but the tank is quite empty,” she said at the time. “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.”

The Dutch star played her final match in Tokyo, where she fell in the first round to eventual silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova in three sets.

“From a shy little girl, with lots of fears to an independent woman who played on the biggest stages,” she wrote in July. “It’s time to say goodbye now. Thanks to this beautiful sport I have learnt so much about myself, about the world and I have met so many incredible people. I will take this forever with me.”

Since then, Bertens enjoyed a summer at home with friends and family before sharing this exciting new announcement with the world.