Eugenie Bouchard bids adieu to tennis with hard-fought loss at National Bank Open
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The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., bowed out to 17th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in a second-round match at the National Bank Open after announcing the hometown tournament would be her last.
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Bouchard had extended her Montreal run with a first-round upset Monday night against Emiliana Arango — her first WTA Tour victory since 2023 — and showed flashes of the aggressive game that once powered her rise to world No. 5 in 2014.
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The local favourite turned back the clock again Wednesday by rallying from down a set, but Bencic held on to win the match in two hours 16 minutes.
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Montrealers packed the centre court stands at IGA Stadium, chanted 'Let's Go Genie!' and grew louder throughout the warm summer night, standing up for several ovations.
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After winning the second set, Bouchard went up a break early in the third, taking a back-and-forth third game when Bencic sent her shot into the net on the Canadian's fifth break-point opportunity.
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Bencic, however, regrouped and broke back to tie at 3-3 in an error-filled game for Bouchard.
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Trailing 5-4 and needing to hold serve, Bouchard fell in a 40-love hole and sent her shot wide while defending the second match point.
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In a roller-coaster career, Bouchard peaked during a banner 2014 season, winning her only WTA title, reaching the Australian Open and French Open semis and becoming the first Canadian woman to play in a Grand Slam final in the open era at Wimbledon.
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But Bouchard's rapid rise also quickly came falling down after her 6-3, 6-0 loss to Petra Kvitova at the All England Club.
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Her highly anticipated homecoming one month later ended abruptly with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 loss against American qualifier Shelby Rogers at the then-called Rogers Cup. And the following year, Bouchard crashed out of the French Open and Wimbledon first rounds as losing streaks piled up.
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A run to the U.S. Open fourth round hinted at a return to form, until Bouchard suffered a concussion from slipping in the locker room — for which she later filed a lawsuit — forcing her to withdraw from the tournament.
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In recent years, Bouchard has sporadically played on the pro tennis circuit, spending more time on the PPA Pickleball Tour, where she ranks 12th in singles.
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She ramped up for her final event with the WTA 125 Hall of Fame Open in July — her first tournament since last year's NBO — and lost her opener in straight sets.
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Bencic held a 3-0 head-to-head advantage over Bouchard, including a first-round win at the 2015 Rogers Cup in Toronto en route to winning the title.
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