Eugenie Bouchard has said she is \u2018grateful\u2019 to the sport of tennis during an emotional speech, after hanging up her racket at the Canadian Open in Montreal.<\/p>\n
The Canadian fell to 17th seed Belinda Bencic in a highly competitive 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 second-round contest.<\/p>\n
Bouchard<\/a> is a former Wimbledon finalist, having reached the showpiece match in 2014 \u2013 losing out to Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a very special night, a very special week in general with all of you here in Montreal,\u201d said the Canadian, during an emotional speech.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s a kind of perfect ending for me.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone keeps asking me, even my sister told me that she started a petition seeking fans\u2019 signatures and that everyone signed in favour, so I won\u2019t have any choice but to reverse my retirement (laughs).<\/p>\n \u201cNo, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI will always be grateful to this sport for everything it has given me.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, Bouchard defeated Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to collect her first singles victory since 2023.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, injuries significantly hindered a career which was once awarded the title of WTA\u2019s Newcomer of the Year in 2013.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI always had the feeling that I would end my career here, so now all the pieces make sense,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n \u201cMontreal is where I was born, where I grew up, so I feel great, I have experienced very emotional moments on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, I think I have everything tonight, so I am very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest WTA News<\/p>\n Emma Raducanu closing in on key rankings position as she continues Canadian Open run<\/a><\/p>\n