Canadian tennis participant Eugenie Bouchard, who reached No. 5 within the WTA rankings in a breakout 2014 season, is retiring from tennis at this 12 months’s Nationwide Financial institution Open in Montreal.
Tennis Canada introduced Bouchard’s retirement at her hometown match in a information launch Wednesday and mentioned she is going to obtain a main-draw wild card into the WTA 1000 hardcourt match, which begins July 26.
The Montreal-born Bouchard made it to the Wimbledon girls’s closing in 2014, dropping to Petra Kvitova in straight units. She grew to become the primary Canadian lady within the open period to contest a Grand Slam singles closing.
She additionally reached the semifinals on the Australian Open and the French Open and certified for the WTA Finals in 2014 en path to profitable the tour’s most improved participant award. Bouchard’s 2014 season additionally included her solely WTA title on the clay-court Nuremberg Cup.
“She has been probably the most vital figures within the historical past of our sport in Canada and a trailblazer who redefined what Canadian tennis might be,” mentioned Valerie Tetreault, the Nationwide Financial institution Open match director. “We’re happy with all the pieces she has carried out, as a participant and position mannequin, and we won’t wait to see her in motion one final time at IGA Stadium this summer time.”
Whereas accidents, together with a concussion on the 2015 U.S. Open, and inconsistent type prevented he from reaching these heights on the WTA Tour once more, she remained an vital a part of Canada’s girls’s group.
The 31-year-old represented Canada on the Olympic Video games in 2016 and earned 13 match wins over 10 Billie Jean King Cup ties. She teamed with Gabriela Dabrowski in two group-stage doubles victories as a part of Canada’s first-ever BJK Cup title in 2023.
“You may know when it is time. For me, it is now. Ending the place it began: Montreal,” Bouchard posted on the X social media platform.
Tennis Canada chief govt officer Gavin Ziv thanked Bouchard for her contributions to tennis in Canada.
“Few athletes have left as profound a mark on Canadian tennis as Genie has all through her extraordinary profession,” Ziv mentioned in a information launch, including her achievements early in her profession have been “issues that many thought can be unimaginable for Canadian gamers.”
“Her profession highlights, which embrace a Wimbledon closing look and a Billie Jean King Cup championship, are nothing in need of extraordinary and have been a real catalyst for the event of tennis in our nation,” he added. “She’s been and nonetheless is an unbelievable ambassador for our sport and, on behalf of Tennis Canada, I wish to thank her for all the pieces she’s carried out.”
No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 10 Badosa withdraw from NBO
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Tenth-ranked Paula Badosa have withdrawn from the upcoming Nationwide Financial institution Open.
Sabalenka mentioned in a launch that she is going to miss her Canadian followers, however skipping Montreal provides her one of the best probability of success within the upcoming hard-court season.
Badosa mentioned after a first-round loss to Katie Boulter at Wimbledon that she sustained a again damage that can hold her out of motion for a couple of weeks.
Caty McNally of the USA and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima got main-draw berths into the match in a corresponding transfer.
The Nationwide Financial institution Open begins July 26 at IGA Stadium.
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