Eugenie Bouchard has said she is ‘grateful’ to the sport of tennis during an emotional speech, after hanging up her racket at the Canadian Open in Montreal.

The Canadian fell to 17th seed Belinda Bencic in a highly competitive 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 second-round contest.

Bouchard is a former Wimbledon finalist, having reached the showpiece match in 2014 – losing out to Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0.

At her peak, she first reached the world No 5 spot in October of that year, claiming exactly 300 singles match wins in her career, overall.

“It has been a very special night, a very special week in general with all of you here in Montreal,” said the Canadian, during an emotional speech.

“I am glad that I was able to play decent tennis on the court and absorb all those emotional and special moments with the fans, with my family, and with all my friends who are here. It’s a kind of perfect ending for me.

“Everyone keeps asking me, even my sister told me that she started a petition seeking fans’ signatures and that everyone signed in favour, so I won’t have any choice but to reverse my retirement (laughs).

“No, the truth is, there is a lot of work behind the scenes in the tennis world, it has been great to perform so well, but this is a very tough life, of hard work and sacrifices. I have given so much to tennis, and it has given me a lot, but I am ready to let it go and do other things in life.

“I will always be grateful to this sport for everything it has given me.”

Earlier in the week, Bouchard defeated Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to collect her first singles victory since 2023.

Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, injuries significantly hindered a career which was once awarded the title of WTA’s Newcomer of the Year in 2013.

Most pertinently, Bouchard underwent shoulder surgery in 2021, which led to a 17-month absence from the professional tour, unable to recapture her best form.

“I always had the feeling that I would end my career here, so now all the pieces make sense,” she continued.

“Montreal is where I was born, where I grew up, so I feel great, I have experienced very emotional moments on the court.

“I think I was just looking for a moment like this, I believe my career deserved a moment like the one I had out there, I really felt it.

“Right now, I think I have everything tonight, so I am very grateful.”

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The Canadian’s best result at the tournament was a third-round run in 2016.

In recent years, her attention shifted from tennis to pickleball, officially joining the Professional Pickleball Association Tour in 2023.

Despite being a highly-active individual, Bouchard plans to go on holiday to help her process her future options and opportunities.

“First, it will be a vacation, I can’t wait until very late tomorrow (laughs),” she joked, when asked what her next plans are.

“Now I want to give myself the chance to have my space, to have time to reflect on what I want to do, to have time to be open to new opportunities.

“I have always said that I regret missing out on the college stage, not going to school, so that could also be an option. Diving more into television things is definitely something I enjoy a lot, so this is probably my next step. Any of you offer me a contract? (laughs).”

“What I wanted was to give my fans a moment like this, who have always respected me and appreciated the hard work I put into tennis.

“Also for the time I spent with them, so to give back that I had to give them the opportunity to see me play one last time. I also did it for myself, to enjoy another moment with all of them, in front of all of them.

“Also for my family and friends. I hope to be remembered for many great things but, most importantly, for being a good person and always giving back everything I received. Tennis has given me so much, that’s why on the court, I was always a great fighter.

“I hope I have shown it in these last two matches, so those are the qualities I would like to be remembered for.”