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Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard, who won her first WTA 1000 level match in more than three years after beating Kayla Day 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the Guadalajara Open, said she hopes to play tennis for a few more years before hanging her boots.
Bouchard was out of action for 17 months – from March 2021 to August 2022 – due to a shoulder injury, subsequent surgery, and recovery. During her time off the court, Eugenie Bouchard played the role of an expert on television, analyzing various matches.
After getting back to winning ways, Bouchard said being live on TV helped her fill the need for adrenaline she was missing while playing and added that prefers sweating on a tennis court rather than analyzing matches on TV.
"I much prefer playing tennis. It was great to do some different activities off court while I was out. Honestly, being on live TV kind of helped kind of fill that need for adrenaline that I was missing while playing tennis. It replicated it a little bit," she said in a post-match press conference after her first-round win at the Guadalajara Open.
It made me challenge myself and push myself out of my comfort zone. I'd much rather be sweating on the court. I can always do that later in life. I still want to play tennis for a few years," she added.
Bouchard said she loved the support from the fans in Mexico and termed them "tennis fanatics."
"Yeah, I mean, like I said on court, I really feel the special support. They're really passionate about tennis. I think I can speak on behalf of all the players when I say that we love playing in front of people who appreciate what we do. The fans here definitely do. They're tennis fanatics and so it's really fun," she stated.
Eugenie Bouchard will take on Jelena Ostapenko in Guadalajara Open 2R
Eugenie Bouchard will next meet Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the ongoing Guadalajara Open. This will be the first meeting between the pair in their careers.
In the opening round, Bouchard beat Kayla Day while Ostapenko made short work of Lauren Davis. Ostapenko won 81 percent of her first-serve points and went 5-for-12 on the break points she posted against Davis to set up her maiden battle with Bouchard.
The Canadian is playing her sixth tournament since staging her comeback this year from a shoulder injury and is currently ranked 430. She has since compiled a 6-6 win-loss record.
