The career of Eugenie Bouchard will soon be over but that day has not yet arrived.
The former top 10 player has been a member of the WTA Tour since 2011 and she made a big impression in 2014 where she reached the Wimbledon final.
But since that terrific season, injuries and a loss of form plagued the 31-year-old’s career and she was unable to rediscover the level of tennis that saw her reach three out of four Grand Slam semi-finals 11 years ago.
Now Bouchard is competing in her final tournament before retiring and she commenced her campaign with a victory.
Eugenie Bouchard says the Montreal Open crowd did something during her opening match which ‘did not help’
Eugenie Bouchard took on Emiliana Arango to commence the last tournament of her career at the Canadian Open Montreal.
The former world number five had not won a WTA Tour match since 2023, and she currently does not have a WTA ranking position.
But she played with no fear against the world number 82 and broke Arango’s seven times on the way to claiming a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win in two hours and 14 minutes.
Post-match, Bouchard mentioned the ovation she received from the crowd while leading 5-1 in the deciding set, which was so loud that she temporarily lost focus.
“It gives me so much joy. I also saw the crowd trying to do a Mexican wave at some points. I love moments like this,” she told reporters.
“There was a point in the third set when I broke to lead 5-1 that the crowd was so loud that I didn’t feel like I was in position for 30 seconds. It was like an out of body experience. It was really amazing. I lost the game after that, so it didn’t help me at the time!
“On the changeover I said to myself okay we have to regain focus. It’s one of those moments where I said the crowd was almost too much and you really have to manage that well and not think too much about the crowd, not think that it is a bigger moment than it is because anything can happen in a match.
“Even though I lead for five hours, the girls are so good that a match can turn at any moment so I had to stay very focused.”
Who will Eugenie Bouchard play next?
Bouchard’s next opponent in her farewell tournament will be former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
The Montreal Open is the 28-year-old’s first tournament since reaching the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.
Bencic triumphed in Canada in 2015, beating Bouchard along the way. The Swiss player has not lost any of her previous three meetings against her next opponent, but Bouchard is looking forward to the challenge.
“She’s obviously a great player. It’s funny, I played here in Toronto ten years ago, and then she ended up winning the tournament,” Bouchard said.
“So, yeah, I know it will be a crazy tough match. I’ll probably do stuff in practice tomorrow, kind of thinking about playing against her. She loves to take it early, change direction. So I’ve had some battles against her, so I’m looking forward to it.”
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