July 16, (THEWILL) — Former world number five Eugenie Bouchard will end her professional tennis career at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal, beginning later this month.
The 31-year-old, who reached the 2014 Wimbledon final, confirmed her retirement plans on the social media platform X, writing: “You’ll know when it’s time.
For me, it’s now. Ending where it all started: Montreal.” Tennis Canada has granted the Montreal-born player a main-draw wild card for the tournament, with her first-round match scheduled for either July 27 or 28.
Bouchard’s career peaked in 2014 when she captured global attention by reaching three Grand Slam semi-finals in a single season.
Her run to the Wimbledon final, where she lost to Petra Kvitová 6-3, 6-0, came after semi-final appearances at both the Australian and French Opens. That breakthrough year also saw her claim her only WTA Tour singles title at the Nuremberg Cup, defeating Karolína Plíšková in the final.
The remarkable season propelled her into the top 10 rankings and established her position among the sport’s rising stars.
The following years brought significant challenges that derailed Bouchard’s promising trajectory. In 2015, she suffered a concussion after slipping on cleaning fluid in a trainer’s room before her fourth-round US Open match against Roberta Vinci.
The incident led to a lawsuit against the US Tennis Association, which reached a confidential settlement in 2018.
Combined with various injuries and form struggles, including 17 months away from competition due to shoulder surgery in 2021 and 2022, Bouchard’s ranking dropped considerably.
Currently unranked, Bouchard has competed in just two WTA Tour main draw matches over the past two years. Her most recent appearance came at last week’s Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, where she lost in the opening round to world number 286 Anna Rogers.
Despite reaching tournament finals in 2020 and 2021, persistent injuries and inconsistent form prevented any sustained return to her former level. In 2023, she contributed to Canada’s historic Billie Jean King Cup victory, winning two doubles matches.
Beyond tennis, Bouchard has ventured into pickleball, competing alongside former world number one Andy Roddick against tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in the “Pickleball Slam” earlier this year.
Her retirement marks the end of an era for Canadian women’s tennis, though the emergence of players like 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has ensured continued representation at the sport’s highest level.
The Canadian Open will provide a fitting farewell for a player who once carried her nation’s tennis hopes on the world stage.
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Jude Obafemi, THEWILL
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.