Eugenie Bouchard | The Story So Far
Eugenie Bouchard is one of the fastest rising stars in the world of professional tennis, and she doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Whether or not you are familiar with this Canadian professional, there is no doubt that she is one of the most proficient tennis players in the world. Her official ranking is currently forty-two, and in the past few years she has been steadily rising continually. In this article, we will be taking a look at Bouchard’s life so far, delving into her early years and even her childhood to find out more. If you are a keen Eugenie fan, then you will find this to be a useful source of information regarding her life to date. If you are not, then you might change your mind by the end of this piece. Let’s find out a little more about her by first taking a look at her childhood years.
Early Life & Family
Bouchard’s family were not particularly sporty by most standards. Her father, Michel Bouchard, was an investment banker, and not very interested in sports. Eugenie was born in Montreal in 1994, along with her twin sister Beatrice not six minutes earlier. On top of that, she also has two younger siblings. However, it was only Eugenie herself who would become particularly interested in tennis.
At the age of five, Eugenie Bouchard started playing tennis frequently. This is the typical starting age for most professionals, so it was clear from the outset that she was destined for great things. Around the age of twelve, however, things progressed even more. It was obviously clear that she had some considerable talent when it came to tennis, as her family began to support her strongly in these efforts. Her mother and herself moved to Florida when she was twelve. Primarily, this move was carried out so that she could be coached by Nick Saviano, a leading tennis coach. It was around this time that she met a longstanding childhood friend, tennis player Laura Robson. Around this time, her siblings began referring to her as ‘the chosen one’.
Although distant geographically, her father was anything but distant when it came to showing support. In fact, her whole family were keenly behind her even from this young age. Around the time that Eugenie and her mother moved to Florida, her father began trying to find ways to support her endeavours financially. To that end, he even established a limited partnership company which he called ‘Tennis Mania’. With this partnership, he contributed greatly towards Eugenie’s career. He and his two investors contributed money to the funding of her career. This was in exchange for ten percent of her earnings once she became a professional tennis player. It seems obvious that this did indeed help her to forge ahead with her career. However, the return on this investment was ruled unfair by a court judge later on.
Starting Her Professional Career
Regardless, Eugenie Bouchard’s career got off to a strong start indeed. In 2005, her early career really began with full force. It was in this year that she participated in her first Open tournament – a huge milestone for any tennis player. It was the tournament Open Super 12 in Auray, France which served as her first venture into the world of professional tennis. And it was not a bad start. Only a few years later, at the age of fifteen, she won her first tournament. The tournament in question was the Canadian under-18 indoor championship in Toronto. This was no small feat for someone of her relatively young age, and another sure sign of her inevitable rise. However, this was not the only good omen to arise for her that year. She also won her first professional main draw match in Italy. In order to achieve that, she had to defeat Frederica Grazioso, at the time ranked number 798 in the world. Not bad for a fifteen-year-old! What’s more, she only had to wait another year before enjoying her next big win. This one was the Pan American Closed ITF Championships, not as prestigious as the previous ones, but still a huge win for someone of her junior age.
Eugenie Bouchard | The Story So Far
The next big competition she was involved in was the Australian Open, not until 2011. Unfortunately for Eugenie, she lost in the semi-finals at this event. However, that is not to say that it was a loss all-round. Even to reach that late stage of the junior tournament was a huge undertaking, and one which could not be taken back. What’s more, consolation must have been taken from the fact that she lost to the fifth seed, Mónica Puig. Fortunately, there was plenty of good news waiting around the corner anyway. As it was only a week later that she won her first ever professional title. As if that wasn’t enough, in April of the same year, her second professional title came swiftly in its wake. This was the ITF $10,000 in Šibenik, Croatia, a most prestigious win for anyone of her ranking at the time. Unfortunately, she had to miss that year’s French Open due to an injury. Nonetheless, it was a hugely positive year on the whole. Not only were there the two previous professional titles, but she also advanced very far in that year’s Wimbledon competition. She made it to the quarter-finals of the singles junior event, losing out at that stage to number three seed Irina Khromacheva. However, she did even better in the doubles, winning the event outright with her partner Grace Min.
As if 2011 could not get any better, she soon continued her streak by reaching her first professional doubles final in Waterloo. She and her partner lost, but one thing is for certain. This was a year which afforded her much experience and practice in the world of professional tennis. At the end of July, she had her first WTA main draw win, a sure sign of clear progress for any tennis player looking for continued success.
It was obviously unlikely that things would slow down at all after such a positive series of matches. Sure enough, the following year proved to be just as astounding for Bouchard. There were, in fact, certain similarities between 2011 and 2012. One of the first of these came when she again successfully reached the semifinals of the junior Australian Open. However, this time around she sadly lost to Yulia Putintseva. Undeterred, Bouchard carried on playing, and it was not long before her next big win was to come along. In fact, it turned out to be the $50,000 ITF tournament in Dothan. Here, she won the professional doubles title with her partner Jessica Pegula. It was another fantastic first for Bouchard, having not previously won a professional doubles title. This year was already looking set to follow a similar pattern to the previous year, and that was already beginning to unfold. Not long after the success with the doubles tournament, she won her third professional singles title at the ITF Challenger. By now no stranger to successive wins, 2012 was shaping up as nicely as anyone could possibly hope for a tennis player of her rank and age.
However, this was only the beginning of her continued rise to success. This year alone afforded plenty more examples of how well she was likely to do in the long run. It was in 2012, after all, that she received a particularly prestigious win. The tournament in question was Wimbledon, often regarded as the most important tennis tournament in the world. Eugenie Bouchard won the singles title at the junior Wimbledon event that year, a sure sign indeed of continuing growth in her abilities. Not only that, but this victory made her the first Canadian in history, junior or professional, to win a Grand Slam in singles. There are not many higher honors than this, and this must have been a real cause for celebration.
If that wasn’t enough, she also won the doubles title again, second year consecutively. It could be said that it was in 2012 that Bouchard’s career really began to look serious. Later in 2012, she made it to the first WTA quarter-final of her career, another milestone which cannot be ignored by any player. What’s more, later that year, she won her first 50K at the ITF Challenger in Toronto. It was already very clear that great things were afoot for this young player.
Many people have said of the following year, 2013, that it was Eugenie Bouchard’s breakthrough year. In many ways, this does seem to be accurate. Already by the time we get to 2013, Bouchard had come a very long way from her beginnings in Montreal. But this year was set to be the one where she really got her career off to a flying start. There were countless wins, and it is difficult to even be able to list them all properly. However, it is a good idea to take a look at some of the main ones, so we can get a clearer picture. One of the major successes of 2013 was when she defeated childhood friend Laura Robson in the Family Circle Cup. At the time, Robson was ranked 42nd in the world, making this Bouchard’s first top-50 win. There then followed one of the biggest wins of her career to date. she defeated the former US Open champion Samantha Stosur, and this secured her a place in the Premier tournament.
Later at Wimbledon, she had another big win in the form of defeating the world number 1 – Ana Ivanovic – on Centre Court. She also, this year, reached her first WTA final. Following an extraordinary run at various WTA tournaments, she was awarded the WTA Newcomer Of The Year. She was only the second Canadian to ever receive the award.
It is easy to see why this was her big breakthrough year according to many spectators. However, as is often the case, things did not appear to slow down in the following year. 2014 saw Bouchard enjoy her very first WTA win, a veritable springboard of progress for any tennis player’s career. Before even that happened, however, she secured herself a place in the top twenty players in the world. This was following a fantastic rise to the semi-finals in the Australian Open. The setting for her first WTA win later in the year was the Nürnberger Versicherungscup. This was a French Open warm-up tournament, and she beat Karolína Plíšková in the final. This made her the first Canadian to win a WTA singles title since 2008. Moreover, she remains only the sixth Canadian WTA winner in history.
In 2014 she also did remarkably well, once again, at the Wimbledon tournament. Although she did not win this time, she did get through to the final before losing out. This made her the first Canadian-born player representing Canada] to make it into a Grand Slam singles final. As if she was not already on record as having enough firsts! Unfortunately, a knee injury caused her to back out of the Citi Open. Later that year, however, things started to turn around again. She qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore, but ultimately eliminated in the third round. Nonetheless, 2014 saw her voted the WTA’s Most Improved Player.
2016 saw Bouchard returning triumphantly to competitive play, after a series of losses in 2015. It had been months since her previous professional match when she began playing again in the Shenzhen Open. She made it to the quarterfinals here before being defeated. Nonetheless, the week later saw one of her most decisive victories to date. THis saw her reaching her first final since 2014, although she then lost out to Alizé Cornet. At this year’s Australian Open, she reached the second round. Further good news came when she beat Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets at Wimbledon. Despite a slight downturn this year, Bouchard is one player who refuses to give in. It is clear she is a tennis player who is bound to continue on to even greater things in the future. Discover more about the current life of Eugenie Bouchard.
Eugenie Bouchard Interesting Facts Infographic:
Young Canadian Tennis Star Eugenie Bouchard – Facts & Statistics
