Kiki Bertens has qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics thanks to her phenomenal showing at the French Open. The Dutchwoman was eligible to play via the Fed Cup criteria, playing in Fed Cups of 2013-2016, with one of the Fed Cup ties having been played in either 2015 or this year. However, her ranking was in question before, sitting outside of the top 56 before the French Open, needing a good run to get her into the top 56 and to meet the Dutch Olympic Committee's secondary requirement.
A Dream Two Weeks for Bertens
It was an amazing two weeks for the 24-year-old who has finally hit her stride this season. After entering Nurnberg as a qualifier, she earned her way into the main draw. After an easy first round win, she took out top-seeded Roberta Vinci and continued her run, knocking out Julia Goerges in the semifinals. She capped off the week in Germany with two titles, winning both the singles and doubles title. She won the singles title over Mariana Duque Mariño and then her and partner Johanna Larsson won the doubles title together.
Usually coming off a deep run at a tournament the week before a Grand Slam drains a player, but all it did was motivate Bertens to reach even new heights. She kicked off her French Open campaign with a stunning three set upset of third-seeded Angelique Kerber. She then took out hard-hitting Camila Giorgi. setting up a third round showdown with Daria Kasatkina.
The third round match was really important to Bertens as the Dutch Olympic Committee held a secondary requirement for their players to compete in the Olympics, making the fourth round of the Grand Slam. She did just that, defeating Kasatkina 10-8 in the third set to seal her bid to the Olympics. After the win, Bertens was in tears because she knew what she achieved.
As if it couldn’t get any better, the 24-year-old made her first Grand Slam semifinal, losing to Serena Williams in two tight sets and even knocked off the Williams sisters with Larsson, en route to a quarterfinals showing at the French Open in women’s doubles before falling to the all-French team and eventual finalists Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.