Eugenie Bouchard isn’t ready to say goodbye to professional tennis quite yet.

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist, who announced earlier this month that the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal will be her final career tournament, defeated Emiliana Arango in three sets on Monday night 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to delight the packed house that came to see her play for maybe the last time at IGA Stadium.

Montreal: Draws | Scores | Order of play

The former World No. 5, who last played a tour-level main draw match in 2023, is playing on a wild card — and currently doesn’t have a ranking in the PIF WTA Rankings. However, that didn’t stop her from breaking the World No. 82 six times in 2 hours and 14 minutes on court — putting her through to a second-round meeting with No. 17 seed Belinda Bencic.

Bouchard’s “celebration”: On the eve of the tournament, Bouchard said she hoped that her final tournament would be a “like a celebration, not a funeral.” 

She certainly got that vibe in primetime on Day 2 of the main draw at the WTA 1000 event — especially as she soared to victory with three of her service breaks in the deciding set.

“It was electric out there. I had so much fun. I’m so proud of how I competed and stayed focused throughout the whole match and fought,” Bouchard said afterwards. “It was a physical battle, a mental battle, and it just felt amazing to play in Montreal in front of everyone.”

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Bouchard continued. “You know, I woke up this morning just telling myself, Look, I can’t control the result. I just want to have a good attitude, have good fight, and try feel good with my shots, feel good with my game.

“No matter what happens, I wanted to walk off the court having enjoyed that kind of gritty battle, and it definitely turned into one of those battles. I enjoyed every second of it. I guess not really what I expected. I didn’t know what to expect, but a happy result.”

As a bonus, Bouchard’s victory was the 300th match win of her career — though she hopes it won’t be the last one. She has never beaten Bencic in three prior matches.