Eugenie Bouchard

Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament in singles, finishing runner-up to Petra Kvitová. Bouchard also reached the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open and 2014 French Open. Having won the 2012 Wimbledon girls' title, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year at the end of the 2013 WTA Tour. Finally, Bouchard received the WTA Most Improved Player award for the 2014 season and reached a career-high ranking of No. 5, becoming the first Canadian tennis player to be ranked in the top 5 in singles format.

Early life and junior career

Eugenie Bouchard was born as one of twins to Michel Bouchard, an investment banker, and Julie Leclair in Montreal.

Bouchard started playing tennis at the age of five and was a member of Tennis Canada's National Training Centre in Montreal. She grew up in Westmount, where she attended elementary school at The Study, a private girls’ school, and lived on the same street as former prime minister Brian Mulroney. At age 12, she moved to Florida with her family. The four children attended a private school in Fort Lauderdale. Eugenie was coached by Nick Saviano, where she met one of her best childhood friends, tennis player Laura Robson. From that time on, she was nicknamed "the chosen one" by her siblings. At 15, Bouchard returned to Montreal for training.

Her father established a limited partnership called "Tennis Mania" to support Eugenie's career. He and two investors contributed money to the partnership in exchange for ten percent of Bouchard's future earnings when she would become a professional tennis player. In August 2013, a court ruled that the partnership has no legal claims as Eugenie, then a nine-year-old, could not have reasonably agreed to giving away parts of her future earnings. Her father had argued that the money he had put into the partnership before Eugenie turned pro was a business loss which would have meant a tax benefit for himself.

Professional career

2005–10: First events on the ITF Circuit

In 2005, Bouchard participated at the tournament Open Super 12 in Auray, France. She captured the ITF singles and doubles titles in Costa Rica and also the All Canadian ITF singles title in Burlington, Ontario in 2008. In 2009 and at only 15, she won the Canadian Under-18 Indoor Championship in Toronto. At this event, Bouchard overpowered fellow Quebecer Marianne Jodoin to become, at 15 years and a month, one of the youngest winners of the indoor event. Later that year, she won her first professional main-draw match at Caserta, Italy, defeating No. 798 Frederica Grazioso. Also in that year, she won the Pan American Closed ITF Championships.

2011: Junior success and first WTA tournament appearance

At the Australian Open, she lost in the semifinals of the singles junior event against fifth seed Monica Puig. A week later, she won her first professional title at the $25k Burnie International, where she defeated fellow 16-year-old qualifier Zheng Saisai in the final. She won her second professional title in April at the $10k in Šibenik, Croatia, where she defeated qualifier Jessica Ginier in the final. She missed the French Open due to an injury. At Wimbledon, Bouchard lost in the quarterfinals of the singles junior event to No. 3 seed Irina Khromacheva but won the doubles junior event with her partner Grace Min at the $50k tournament in Waterloo, where she lost. At the end of July, she beat the 114th ranked player Alison Riske at the Citi Open in College Park. It was her first WTA Tour main-draw win. With that win, she had the chance to meet No. 2 seed Nadia Petrova in the second round, but lost the match.

2012: Junior Wimbledon champion

Bouchard reached the semifinals of the junior Australian Open for the second straight year, but lost to Yulia Putintseva. Bouchard won her first professional doubles title at the $50k tournament in Dothan, Alabama with partner Jessica Pegula. She defeated fellow Canadians Sharon Fichman and Marie-Ève Pelletier in the final. In May, Bouchard won her third professional singles title at the $10k in Båstad with a win in the final over Katharina Lehnert. She won the next week her second straight ITF title in Båstad, when she defeated Milana Špremo in the final. Bouchard won the junior singles title at Wimbledon with a victory over third seed Elina Svitolina. She became the first Canadian ever, junior or pro, to win a Grand Slam in singles. She also won the doubles title for the second straight year, this time with American Taylor Townsend, beating Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in the final.

At the end of July, Bouchard won her second $25k tournament and fifth singles title of her career at the Challenger de Granby. She defeated fellow Canadian and defending champion, Stéphanie Dubois, in the final. She played a week later at the Washington Open where she was awarded a wildcard for the main draw. Bouchard made it to the first WTA quarterfinal of her career, where she was defeated by Sloane Stephens. At the Rogers Cup, she upset former world No. 11, Shahar Pe'er, in the first round. She then lost in the next round to 2011 French Open champion Li Na. Bouchard reached her first $50k final at the Saguenay Challenger, but lost to Madison Keys. The following week, she won her first 50k at the Toronto Challenger. She reached the doubles final as well. At her last tournament of the season, Bouchard lost to Jacqueline Cako and Natalie Pluskota in the doubles final of a $75k in Phoenix.

2013: Breakthrough

For the 2013 season Bouchard enlisted Nathalie Tauziat to coach and travel with her part-time, and Bouchard transformed her defensive, retrieving tactics from junior level into a game of aggression. Tauziat was let go after the season and Saviano committed to a more present role alongside Bouchard.

At the start of the season, Bouchard attempted to qualify for the main draw at the Sydney International, but lost to Storm Sanders in the first round of the qualifiers. She played the qualifiers for the Australian Open and was eliminated by Daria Gavrilova in the second round. Bouchard played in the main draw of the Copa Bionaire in Colombia. She beat Laura Thorpe in the opening round but lost to Alexandra Panova in the next round. At the Copa Colsanitas, she had to play the qualifying rounds again. She beat Richèl Hogenkamp in the opening round but lost to Arantxa Parra Santonja in the second. Bouchard played in the main draw of the Mexican Open in Acapulco where she beat Eva Birnerová in the first round, and then was defeated by defending champion and top seed Sara Errani. She received a wildcard entry to the Miami Open and beat Shahar Pe'er in her opening match and was defeated in the second round by world No. 2, Maria Sharapova.

At the Family Circle Cup, she successfully qualified for the main draw, and drew fellow qualifier Nastassja Burnett which she won in straight sets. She also defeated world No. 42, Laura Robson, in three sets in the second round, her first top-50 win. Bouchard won her third-round clash against former US Open champion Samantha Stosur after the Australian retired, booking a spot in the quarterfinals of the Premier tournament. It was the first top-10 victory of her young career. Although she lost to Jelena Janković, the quarterfinal appearance assured her a spot in the top-100 for the first time. Bouchard went on to play a French Open warm-up tournament, the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she had one of her most impressive runs on the WTA Tour to date. She made it to the semifinals by defeating Sílvia Soler Espinosa, Camila Giorgi and Anna Tatishvili all in straight sets, but lost to Alizé Cornet. Bouchard made her first Grand Slam main-draw appearance at the French Open, where she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. Her next opponent was the defending champion and world No. 2, Maria Sharapova, who defeated her.

At Wimbledon, Bouchard beat qualifier Galina Voskoboeva in her opening match in three tough sets. In the second round, she had one of the biggest wins of her career when she beat world No. 12 and former No. 1, Ana Ivanovic, on Centre Court in straight sets. But she was eliminated in the third round by Carla Suárez Navarro. At the beginning of August, Bouchard reached the doubles final at the tournament in Washington D.C. which was the first WTA final of her career. She was defeated, with partner Taylor Townsend, by Shuko Aoyama and Vera Dushevina in the final. The next week, she made it to the second round for the second straight year at the Rogers Cup and was ultimately defeated by defending champion, Petra Kvitová. At the last WTA Premier 5 before the US Open, Bouchard reached the second round of the Western & Southern Open as a qualifier, but lost in three sets to world No. 1, Serena Williams. At the US Open, she was stopped by world No. 9, Angelique Kerber, in the second round. Bouchard made it to the second WTA semifinal of her career at the Challenge Bell in mid-September, but was eliminated by Lucie Šafářová.

At the Premier 5 Pan Pacific Open, Bouchard had a remarkable run. She defeated Monica Puig in the first round and the No. 9 seed, Sloane Stephens, in three tight sets in the second. In the third round, she beat the former world No. 1 and sixth seed, Jelena Janković, her second win over a member of the top 10, in straight sets to reach her first WTA Premier-5 quarterfinal and fourth WTA quarterfinal of her career. She was defeated by Venus Williams in the next round in over three hours of play. The next week, Bouchard lost to Sloane Stephens in the second round of the WTA Premier Mandatory China Open. At Osaka, she made it to the first WTA singles final of her career and became the first Canadian to reach a WTA singles final since Rebecca Marino in 2011 in Memphis. She ultimately lost to Sam Stosur in the final. At the Luxembourg Open, the last tournament of her season, Bouchard was defeated by Andrea Petkovic in the first round. Bouchard was named the Newcomer of the Year after her breakthrough season, the first Canadian since Carling Bassett-Seguso in 1983 to win the WTA award.

During the 2013 off-season she appeared on CTV Montreal as a guest weather anchor.

2014: First WTA title, Grand Slam final and top 5

Bouchard started the new season at the Hopman Cup, where she represented Canada with Milos Raonic, followed by a first-round exit at Sydney to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The next week, Bouchard won her opening match at the Australian Open over wildcard Tang Haochen, followed by wins over Virginie Razzano, Lauren Davis, and Casey Dellacqua to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Bouchard defeated Ana Ivanovic. She was eliminated in the semifinals by world No. 4, Li Na, but guaranteed herself a spot in the world's top 20 for the first time. Two weeks later, she won both of her singles matches in the 2014 Fed Cup World Group II, Fed Cup World Group II first round against Serbia, helping Canada reach the World Group playoffs for the first time since 2004.

At the 2014 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells Open, Bouchard defeated Peng Shuai in the second round and scored her third win over a member of the top 10 with a victory over Sara Errani in the third round. Her run was stopped by world No. 7, Simona Halep, in the fourth round. Bouchard reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 Family Circle Cup, Family Circle Cup for the second straight year with wins over Alla Kudryavtseva and Venus Williams in the second and third rounds, respectively. She then advanced to the semifinals for the first time after defeating world No. 8, Jelena Janković, her fourth win over a top-10 player, but lost to Andrea Petkovic. At the 2014 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs, Fed Cup World Group Play-offs two weeks later, Bouchard helped Canada get its place in the World Group I, the first time for the country since the introduction of the new World Group format in 1995, by winning her two singles matches. At the 2014 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, Nürnberger Versicherungscup, a French Open warm-up tournament, Bouchard won the first WTA singles title of her career with a victory over Karolína Plíšková in the final. She is the first Canadian to win a WTA singles title since Aleksandra Wozniak at the 2008 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Classic in 2008 and the sixth in history.

At the 2014 French Open, French Open, Bouchard defeated Shahar Pe'er, Julia Görges, and Johanna Larsson in the first three rounds to set up a clash with world No. 9, Angelique Kerber, in the round of 16. She won the match in straight sets in only 52 minutes, her fifth victory over a member of the top 10, to reach the quarterfinals. She then defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets, coming back from 2–5 down and 1–4 down in the first and deciding set respectively, to make it to her second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. In the semifinals, she was eliminated by world No. 8 and eventual tournament winner, Maria Sharapova, in three sets.

Bouchard suffered an opening-round exit at the 2014 Topshelf Open, Rosmalen Open as the third seed, where she lost to Vania King in three sets. At 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Bouchard defeated Daniela Hantuchová, Sílvia Soler Espinosa, Andrea Petkovic, Alizé Cornet, and Angelique Kerber, all in straight sets, to make it to her third straight Grand Slam semifinal. In doing so, she became the first WTA player to make the semifinals of the first three majors of the season since Dinara Safina in 2009, and guaranteed her first top-10 ranking following the tournament. She then defeated world No. 3, Simona Halep, in straight sets to become the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to make it into a Grand Slam singles final, ultimately falling to Wimbledon 2011 champion Petra Kvitová in straight sets.

Bouchard was scheduled to start her US Open Series campaign at the 2014 Citi Open, Washington Open; however, she withdrew from the tournament citing a right knee injury. She played her first tournament since Wimbledon at the 2014 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup in her hometown of Montreal. Seeded fifth, she received a first-round bye and faced Shelby Rogers in her opener. Bouchard suffered a shocking three-set loss. Bouchard was the seventh seed at the 2014 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati Open and lost again in three sets in the second round, this time to Svetlana Kuznetsova. At the 2014 US Open (tennis), US Open, she was defeated by Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. Bouchard received a main-draw wildcard (after forgetting to enter) to participate in the 2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Hong Kong Open, but pulled out of the tournament due to heat stroke suffered at the US Open. She had been the image of promotion for the tournament and promoted widely. Her last-minute withdrawal sparked criticism, as she had allegedly agreed to appearance fees and signed contracts, to which the WTA responded by fining the tournament official. At the inaugural 2014 Wuhan Open, Wuhan Open, Bouchard reached her first WTA Premier-5 final with wins over Mona Barthel, Alison Riske, Alizé Cornet and No. 7, Caroline Wozniacki. She was defeated by Petra Kvitová in the final, in a rematch of the Wimbledon final.

In October, Bouchard qualified for the 2014 WTA Finals, hosted in Singapore, and was joined by top players Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitová, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwańska, Ana Ivanovic, and Caroline Wozniacki, but she was eliminated in the round-robin stage.

At the end of the 2014 season, she was named the WTA Awards#Most Improved Player, Most Improved Player by the WTA. On November 24, 2014, it was announced that Saviano and Bouchard were parting ways. Bouchard finished the season ranked No. 7 in the world.

2015: Out of form, concussion at US Open

Bouchard started her season at the 2015 Hopman Cup, Hopman Cup, representing Canada alongside Vasek Pospisil. She lost her first match against the Czech Republic at the Hopman Cup, Czech Republic's Lucie Šafářová, and Canada went on to lose the tie. Then, in the tie against the United States at the Hopman Cup, U.S. team, Bouchard beat Serena Williams, while Pospisil beat John Isner to give Canada the win. They defeated Italy at the Hopman Cup, Italy in the last tie, but despite the win, they finished second in the group and were eliminated. At the 2015 Australian Open, Australian Open, Bouchard lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova in straight sets. On 5 February 2015, Bouchard began working with Sam Sumyk, who had previously coached Victoria Azarenka to Grand Slam success.

Bouchard, the top seed at Diamond Games at Antwerp, was eliminated in the second round by Mona Barthel after a first-round bye. At 2015 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Bouchard was eliminated in the fourth round by qualifier Lesia Tsurenko. A week later in 2015 Miami Open, Miami, after a first-round bye, Bouchard was defeated in the second round by yet another qualifier, Tatjana Maria in straight sets.

Bouchard began her clay-court season at the 2015 Family Circle Cup, Family Circle Cup. After receiving a bye in the first round, she lost in the second round to unseeded Lauren Davis in straight sets. Bouchard then participated in Fed Cup, representing team Canada. She went on to lose both of her singles matches to Romanians Alexandra Dulgheru and Andreea Mitu. Canada was hence relegated to the World Group II division.

Bouchard lost her first-round match against Barbora Strýcová at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, after winning the first set and up with a break in the second, which put her losing streak at the time at six matches. The next week at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Italian Open, she won her first match since March defeating Zarina Diyas in the second round, but lost in the next round to eventual finalist Carla Suárez Navarro. At the 2015 French Open, French Open, Bouchard was eliminated in the first round, losing to Kristina Mladenovic.

Her losing streak continued when she lost in the first round to Yaroslava Shvedova at the 2015 Topshelf Open, Rosmalen Open as a wildcard entry and top seed, then in the second round of the 2015 Aegon Classic, Birmingham Classic yet again to Mladenovic after getting bagelled in the third set, having received a first-round bye. Bouchard won her first match on grass defeating Alison Riske in the second round in 2015 Aegon International, Eastbourne. However, she was forced to retire against eventual champion, Belinda Bencic, in round three with an abdominal injury. Bouchard next headed to 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon as the defending finalist and the 12th seed. She was taken down in straight sets by qualifier Duan Yingying in the opening round, her second consecutive first-round loss at a Grand Slam event. This loss would push her down to No. 26, her first time out of the top 20 since her semifinal appearance at the 2014 Australian Open. After just six months, Sumyk was fired by Bouchard as coach.

At the 2015 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup in August, her first tournament in more than a month and her home event, Bouchard was again defeated by eventual champion, Belinda Bencic, in the first round. Ana Ivanovic said about that: "I went through that and it's not easy," "And every person or player goes through it differently because of their character. And (Bouchard) is very young. I think it's important to go back to her basics and what works for her and to work hard and actually listen to herself. (Do) what she needs to do rather than being too much influenced by outside people. "Surround herself with the right people and then stick with it". At the 2015 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open the next week, she progressed to the second round over Kateryna Bondarenko in two tie-breaks, her first match win since June, but was immediately eliminated by eventual semifinalist Elina Svitolina. In 2015 Connecticut Open – Singles, New Haven, Bouchard was defeated easily in the first round by Roberta Vinci.

At the 2015 US Open (tennis), US Open, Bouchard defeated Alison Riske and Polona Hercog in the first and second round, respectively, which became her first back-to-back wins since March at the Indian Wells Open. In the third round, Bouchard defeated Dominika Cibulková in three-sets to reach the second week at the US Open for the second straight year. The tournament was seen as Bouchard's return to form, as she was also advancing in the doubles and mixed doubles. Bouchard was scheduled to play Roberta Vinci in the fourth round, but was forced to withdraw due to a concussion, an injury she suffered after slipping and falling in the locker-room. #USTA Lawsuit, A subsequent lawsuit was filed against the United States Tennis Association (USTA) on her behalf, with the parties reaching settlement in 2018. The injury forced Bouchard to withdraw from other tournaments and she played only one match in the remainder of 2015, against Andrea Petkovic at the 2015 China Open (tennis), China Open, a match she had to retire from in the second set after suffering from dizziness. Bouchard ended 2015 as world No. 48 in the WTA rankings.

2016: Mixed results

After over three months since her last match, Bouchard started the new season at the 2016 WTA Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen Open, winning in the first two rounds over Donna Vekić and Nicole Gibbs, respectively. She was defeated by Tímea Babos in the quarterfinals. The following week at the 2016 Hobart International, Hobart International, she had her most decisive victory in almost a year, beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands with the loss of just three games, followed by a tough straight-set win over Alison Van Uytvanck to bring her into her second straight quarterfinal of the year. She then defeated Camila Giorgi and Dominika Cibulková to reach her first final since the 2014 Wuhan Open; however, she lost in straight sets to Alizé Cornet.

Bouchard next played the 2016 Australian Open, Australian Open, where she was unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2013. She won her opening match against Aleksandra Krunić, before falling to world No. 4, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the second round. In February, she reached the third round of the 2016 Qatar Total Open, Qatar Open before falling to Zheng Saisai in straight sets. In March at the 2016 Malaysian Open, Malaysian Open, Bouchard advanced to her second final of the season where she was defeated by Elina Svitolina in three sets.

At 2016 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, she lost in the third round to Timea Bacsinszky. After mutually parting ways with Thomas Högstedt, Bouchard re-hired Saviano as coach prior to the clay-court season. At the 2016 French Open, French Open, she advanced to the second round but lost to Bacsinszky again, despite leading 4–1 in the first set. After the match, Bouchard publicly admitted that her struggles on the court the previous year had led to her struggling to eat properly. This sparked rumours that she had developed an eating disorder, which she soon denied.

Grass-court season began for Bouchard with a loss to qualifier Elise Mertens at the 2016 Ricoh Open, Rosmalen Open in which she won just two games. She went on to be eliminated at the second round of the 2016 Mallorca Open, Mallorca Open by Anastasija Sevastova and then reached the third round at 2016 Aegon International Eastbourne, Eastbourne, losing again to Radwanska. At Wimbledon, she beat Magdaléna Rybáriková in straight sets, in a match that began on the outside courts but was finished under the closed roof of Centre Court due to an extremely long rain delay. Less than 24 hours later, she was back on Centre Court and won back-to-back matches in a Grand Slam for the first time this year, defeating Johanna Konta in three sets. In the third round, she lost in straight sets to Dominika Cibulkova.

At her home tournament, the 2016 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup, Bouchard advanced to the third round with wins over Lucie Šafářová and world No. 10, Dominika Cibulková. Her run was stopped by qualifier Kristína Kučová. She next competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics in Rio, and won her opening-match over Sloane Stephens, but was defeated by world No. 2, Angelique Kerber, in the next round. She also reached the second round in doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski. At the 2016 US Open (tennis), US Open, Bouchard lost to Kateřina Siniaková in the first round. Post-US Open, she lost in two more first rounds, and a second round, in her last three tournaments of the year, and ended the year ranked No. 46.

2017: Continued struggles with form

Bouchard started the year by playing at the 2017 Brisbane International, Brisbane International. She was defeated in the first round by Shelby Rogers. At the 2017 Apia International Sydney, Sydney International, Bouchard defeated world No. 23, Zhang Shuai, in the first round. She then defeated world No. 6, Dominika Cibulková, in straight sets, to set up a quarterfinal meeting with world No. 27, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, whom she defeated to reach her first semifinal since February 2016. She lost to world No. 10, Johanna Konta. At the 2017 Australian Open, Australian Open, Bouchard defeated Louisa Chirico and Peng Shuai in her first two matches, but lost to CoCo Vandeweghe in three sets in the third round. She lost in the first round of her next four tournaments, the 2017 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Mexican Open, 2017 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells Masters, 2017 Miami Open, Miami Open and 2017 Monterrey Open, Monterrey Open respectively.

Bouchard made a return to the ITF Circuit for the first time in nearly four years at the $80k event in 2017 Revolution Technologies Pro Tennis Classic, Indian Harbour Beach, but was defeated by Victoria Duval in the quarterfinals. Two weeks later, she lost in the opening round of the 2017 İstanbul Cup, İstanbul Cup to Jana Čepelová. In May at the Premier Mandatory 2017 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, she won her first tour-level match since the Australian Open in January with a victory over Alizé Cornet. She then managed to defeat Maria Sharapova in the second round, her first win in five meetings, to set up a match with world No. 2, Angelique Kerber, in the third round. Bouchard won the first set and was up 5–0 in the second before Kerber had to retire with a left thigh injury. Her run was ended by world No. 9, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the quarterfinals. At the 2017 French Open, French Open, she won her first-round match over Risa Ozaki but was defeated by Anastasija Sevastova in the second. Bouchard lost in the opening round of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon Championships to Carla Suárez Navarro. At the 2017 Citi Open, Washington Open in August, she reached her second WTA doubles final but lost to Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voráčová with partner Sloane Stephens. In October, at her last tournament of the season, the 2017 BGL Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg Open, she and partner Kirsten Flipkens advanced to the doubles final but were defeated by Lesley Kerkhove and Lidziya Marozava.

In December, it was announced that trial for Bouchard's lawsuit against the USTA (regarding the alleged head injury caused to Bouchard by the slippery surface in a physiotherapy room at the 2015 US Open) would take place in late February 2018, and was expected to last around ten days. Bouchard finished the 2017 season as world number 81, continuing her slide down the WTA rankings.

2018: Out of top 100, late resurgence

After parting company with coach Thomas Högstedt towards the end of 2017, Bouchard began working with Harold Solomon. She teamed up with Vasek Pospisil to compete at the 2018 Hopman Cup, Hopman Cup for Canada, but failed to win a single match in the competition, losing all three of her singles games in straight sets, and picking up a buttock injury during her last match against Elise Mertens. Bouchard's losing streak continued at the 2018 Hobart International, Hobart International when she was beaten again in straight sets by Aryna Sabalenka, a result that meant Bouchard fell out of the WTA top 100 for the first time since 2013.

At the 2018 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, she defeated Océane Dodin in the opening round before losing to world No. 1, Simona Halep, in the second. Following several poor results at the front-end of the season, including failure to qualify at the French Open, Bouchard's world ranking plummeted to 194 in early June, her lowest ranking in six years. She slowly improved her ranking over the coming months, starting with qualifying into main draw of 2018 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round to Ashleigh Barty. Bouchard followed this up with a semifinal appearance at the 2018 Ladies Championship Gstaad – Singles, Ladies Championship Gstaad to bring her ranking back to No. 123 in the world.

At the 2018 US Open – Women's singles, US Open, she showed glimpses of the player she once was, dropping just seven games in three qualifying matches in front of packed crowds. In the main draw, she continued her dominance from qualifying, dispatching French wildcard Harmony Tan, 6–3, 6–1. Bouchard was then ousted from the tournament in the second round, falling to Markéta Vondroušová in straight sets. This also marked the first time since her 2015 concussion that she won a match at the US Open.

Bouchard again struggled following the US Open, failing to win a main-draw match at her next four tournaments. Her luck turned at the 2018 BGL Luxembourg Open – Singles, Luxembourg Open, where she almost reached her first WTA final since the 2016 Malaysian Open. Bouchard won through three qualifying matches and then defeated Tímea Babos, Carla Suárez Navarro and Andrea Petkovic to set up a semifinal clash with top seed Julia Görges. Despite serving for the match at 5–3 in the second set, Bouchard ultimately lost 7–6, 5–7, 1–6. The result, however, moved her inside the top 100 and saw her end 2018 as world No. 87.

2019: Maiden doubles title, losing streak and rankings decline

Bouchard began the season at the 2019 ASB Classic – Women's singles, Auckland Open in New Zealand, where she made the quarterfinals before losing to top seed Julia Görges. Bouchard also played doubles at the event, partnering American Sofia Kenin. The pair would go on to win the tournament, earning Bouchard her first doubles title on the WTA Tour.

At the Australian Open, Bouchard made short work of Peng Shuai in the opening round before falling to Serena Williams in the second round. With an early exit at the Australian Open, she opted to compete on the WTA Challenger Tour at the 2019 Oracle Challenger Series – Newport Beach – Women's singles, Newport Beach Challenger. Seeded third, she progressed to the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by compatriot and eventual champion Bianca Andreescu.

In February, Bouchard was awarded a wildcard into the Premier 5 tournament in 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's singles, Dubai. She defeated Vera Lapko in the first round before losing to third seed Simona Halep in the second round. The loss to Halep would begin a huge losing streak for Bouchard and some of the worst form since her initial slump in 2015. Bouchard failed to win a match at 2019 BNP Paribas Open – Women's singles, Indian Wells, 2019 Miami Open – Women's singles, Miami, 2019 French Open – Women's singles, French Open, 2019 Eastbourne International – Women's singles, Eastbourne, 2019 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon, 2019 Ladies Open Lausanne – Singles, Lausanne, 2019 Citi Open – Women's singles, Washington, 2019 Rogers Cup – Women's singles, Rogers Cup, 2019 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's singles, Vancouver and the 2019 Bronx Open – Singles, Bronx to extend her losing streak to 11 matches across WTA main tour, qualifying and ITF Circuit matches. At the 2019 US Open – Women's singles, US Open, Bouchard's losing streak extended to 12 matches with a straight sets defeat to 12th seed Anastasija Sevastova. Bouchard's ranking fell outside the world's top 150 following her loss at the US Open.

She returned in late September at the 2019 Central Coast Pro Tennis Open – Singles, Central Coast Open on the ITF Circuit. Seeded third, Bouchard crashed out of the tournament in the opening round to world No. 272, Gabriela Lee, Gabriela Talaba, a little known Romanian player with zero top-200 wins prior to the tournament. The loss extended her losing streak to 13 matches. Following her continued poor results, Bouchard's ranking slumped to 224 in the world. Bouchard returned to the singles circuit at the 2019 Oracle Challenger Series – Houston – Women's singles, 125k Houston Challenger. At the event, Bouchard ended her 13-match losing streak and won her first match at any level in nine months, defeating Valentini Grammatikopoulou, in straight sets. She also won through her second-round match against eighth seed Francesca Di Lorenzo. Di Lorenzo retired a break down in the second set, but exited the tournament after retiring three games into her third-round match against Mandy Minella following a foot injury.
Bouchard ended the 2019 season ranked 262.

2020: Resurgence; first WTA final in four years; best Grand Slam showing in three years

At the 2020 ASB Classic – Women's singles, Auckland Open, for which she was granted a wildcard, Bouchard showed some signs of a return to form. She defeated Kirsten Flipkens and eighth seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets before losing a hard-fought match to Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals. Bouchard entered the 2020 Australian Open – Women's singles qualifying, Australian Open qualifying unseeded, where she won her first two matches against You Xiaodi and Maddison Inglis before slumping to a disappointing straight sets loss in the final qualifying round against Martina Trevisan. After the hiatus from tennis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to tennis at the 2020 Prague Open, Prague Open where she showed more signs of a return to form by upsetting eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in the first round. She then defeated Tamara Zidanšek in three sets to make her second WTA quarterfinal of 2020. However, she was defeated in three sets by the eventual runner-up and third seed, Elise Mertens.

At the 2020 İstanbul Cup, İstanbul Cup, she qualified into the top half, eventually upsetting top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and getting her way to the final, to then play Patricia Maria Țig to whom she lost.

At the delayed 2020 French Open, Bouchard made it to the third round before losing to eventual champion Iga Świątek, her best major showing since making it to the third round at the 2017 Australian Open.

2021: Eighth career WTA final

Bouchard started her 2021 season at the Australian Open but fell to Yuan Yue in straight sets, in the second round of qualifying. Bouchard was then beaten in straight sets by Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of 2021 Lyon Open (WTA) – Singles, Lyon. She received a wildcard for the 2021 Abierto Zapopan – Singles, Abierto Zapopan and defeated qualifier Caroline Dolehide in three sets in the first round before recording straight-set wins over eighth seed Kaja Juvan, Caty McNally and qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach her second WTA final in six months; she lost to Sara Sorribes Tormo, in straight sets.

In August, while rehabbing from shoulder surgery, Bouchard began working as a color commentator for The Tennis Channel.

2022: Starts year out of rankings, returns to Top 350 by end of season

As of 28 February, Bouchard had dropped to 1459 in the WTA singles ranking.
By May, she had dropped out of the rankings completely.
In June, Bouchard announced her comeback to the tour at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon Championships for the first time since 2021 Monterrey Open. After receiving entry through her protected ranking for Wimbledon, however, she decided to skip The Championships with no WTA rankings points to offer. She made her comeback at the 2022 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Vancouver Open.

At the 2022 US Open (tennis), US Open, Bouchard won her first match in straight sets during the qualifying rounds against Japan’s Yuki Naito, but was knocked out in the second round by Czech player Linda Nosková, 6–2, 6–3.

Bouchard received a wildcard for 2022 Chennai Open, Chennai Open, where she reached the quarterfinals after recording two straight sets win over Joanne Züger and Karman Thandi. She then narrowly lost to Nadia Podoroska in three sets.

Bouchard then entered the Korea Open in Seoul, where she lost out to seventh-seeded Tatjana Maria in two tie-break sets. Bouchard then comfortably qualified for the WTA 500 in Ostrava. In the tournament's main draw, she lost in three close sets to Belinda Bencic, the number six seed in the first round.

Bouchard then played in Cluj-Napoca where she retired in the first round against second-seeded Anhelina Kalinina due to injury.

Next, Bouchard played at the WTA 1000 event in Guadalajara where she beat American qualifier Kayla Day, then lost to Jelena Ostapenko the number twelve seed, in three sets.

Bouchard's final tournaments for the season were in Tampico and Midland where she lost in the first round of both. Bouchard finished the year ranked 327 in the world.

World TeamTennis

Bouchard has played four seasons with World TeamTennis starting in 2009 when she debuted in the league with the Kansas City Explorers, followed by a season with the Texas Wild in 2013, the New York Empire (tennis), New York Empire in 2017, and the Orange County Breakers in 2019. It was announced that she will be joining the Chicago Smash for their debut season, during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12 at The Greenbrier.

Bouchard was dominant for the Smash in women's doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands during the 2020 season, finishing the season with an 11–5 record, helping the Smash to earn a No. 2 seed in WTT Play-offs. The Smash defeated the Orlando Storm in the semifinals before falling to the New York Empire (tennis), New York Empire in a super-tiebreaker for the championship.

Playing style

Bouchard employs a high-risk, aggressive playing style, focused on her powerful groundstrokes, that is played from the baseline. During her 2014 breakout season, Bouchard was noted for her ability to hit the ball hard, flat, and early on the rise, allowing her to defeat multiple top 10 players and run deep into Grand Slams. Her two-handed backhand is her strongest groundstoke, and can penetrate deep into the court, allowing her to push her opponents behind the baseline. Her forehand is notable for its condensed swing, allowing her to generate considerable power, and is especially effective when utilised to redirect power down the line. However, the condensed forehand swing also reduces the level of control Bouchard has over her forehand, which can result in the accumulation of unforced errors when employing this shot. Her first serve is powerful, averaging 103 mph (165 km/h), and having been recorded as high as 111 mph (178 km/h), allowing her to serve aces. Her second serve typically averages 84 mph (135 km/h). Due to her aggressive playing style, she rarely incorporates drop shots, lobs, or sliced backhands into points. Due to her doubles experience, Bouchard is able to volley efficiently, although she rarely approaches the net when she plays singles matches. She has been noted for her fighting attitude and determination.

Endorsements, sponsors and equipment

Following her breakout grand slam final appearance at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Bouchard signed a three-year endorsement deal with Coca-Cola, following earlier agreements with Rogers Communications and equipment sponsors Nike, Inc., Nike and Babolat.she has recently been sponsored by Yonex The following summer in June 2015, Bouchard signed a multi-year partnership with Aviva Canada. Bouchard has used numerous racquets throughout the years - as a junior, Bouchard used various iterations of the Wilson Sporting Goods, Wilson Blade. As a professional player, she typically used the Babolat Pure Aero, doing so between 2013 and 2018, switching briefly to the Babolat Pure Drive in 2017; she also used the Head (company), Head Graphene Radical between 2017 and 2018. After her contract with Babolat expired in 2018, Bouchard briefly used the Wilson Ultra 100. Bouchard currently uses Yonex racquets, having endorsed the Yonex VCORE 100 racquet since late 2018. Bouchard's contract with Nike for clothing and footwear expired in 2020, and was not renewed; for the 2021 season, Bouchard is endorsed by New Balance.

Bouchard was ranked No. 1 by SportsPro in their "World's 50 Most Marketable Athletes 2015 list", toppling the likes of Neymar, Stephen Curry, Steph Curry and Usain Bolt.

Personal life

Bouchard has a twin sister, Beatrice, who is six minutes older. She also has two younger siblings, sister Charlotte (born 1995) and brother William (born 1999). She and her twin sister are named after Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Andrew's daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice of York. Her sister Charlotte is named after Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Monégasque Princess Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Caroline and her then husband Stefano Casiraghi, and William is named after William, Prince of Wales.

A proficient student in mathematics and science, she once considered a career as a physician. She is fluent in both French and English. Her favourite tennis player is Roger Federer, whom she met in 2012 at the The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Ball. She described talking with Federer as a highlight of her life.

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles performance timelines

Note: Bouchard's 2015 US Open (tennis), 2015 US Open withdrawal in the fourth round does not count as a loss.

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Awards

* 2013: WTA Newcomer of the Year
* 2013: Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year
* 2013: Bobbie Rosenfeld Award
* 2014: Quebecor Media, QMI Agency Canadian Athlete of the Year
* 2014: WTA Most Improved Player
* 2014: Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year
* 2014: Bobbie Rosenfeld Award
* 2015: Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year
* 2016: Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year

See also

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* List of Canadian sports personalities

Notes

She is a tennis player.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Eugenie
1994 births
Living people
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Canadian female tennis players
Canadian people of French descent
Canadian people of Irish descent
Quebecers of French descent
Quebec people of Irish descent
Anglophone Quebec people
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' doubles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
People from Westmount, Quebec
Tennis players from Montreal
Canadian twins
Twin sportspeople
Wimbledon junior champions
Olympic tennis players of Canada
Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Hopman Cup competitors