(Vancouver) Eugenie Bouchard was physically and mentally exhausted after her first game, but she couldn’t be happier.
Posted yesterday at 8:48 p.m.
After a 17-month leave, which allowed her to recover from surgery on her right shoulder, the Montrealer is back on the tennis courts as part of the Odlum Brown VanOpen.
“The objective of the operation and the return is to be able to play exactly as I want and as I played before,” explained Monday, the 28-year-old Quebecer, who has already occupied fifth place in the rankings. global.
“That’s what we do as athletes. Our purpose is not to train all the time, our purpose is to play. »
Bouchard started the tournament Sunday night. She and her compatriot Kayla Cross defeated Italians Lucia Bronzetti and Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a doubles duel.
“I was drained,” said Bouchard, with a smile. “I started to feel tension in my body, my muscles were getting sore. »
Bouchard will play her first singles match on Tuesday against Dutch Arianne Hartoro, a rival she knows nothing about. Bouchard is aware that there could be pitfalls along the way and she accepts the role of underdog.
“Expectations are really low, expectations are at rock bottom,” said Bouchard, who twice won The Canadian Press’s Female Athlete of the Year award.
My actions and my personal standards are high, but in terms of results, we don’t know what to expect. I’ve never had to come back from an operation before. I have never suffered such a severe injury. For me, this is really uncharted territory.
Eugenie Bouchard
Bouchard, who received an invitation from tournament organizers, had not played since March 2021 at the Monterrey Open. During this tournament, she injured her shoulder during a first-round duel against Zhu Lin.
Bouchard became the first Canadian to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament. It was in 2014, at Wimbledon, where she lost to the Czech Petra Kvitova. That same year, she also reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the French Open.
Since then, Bouchard has suffered numerous injuries, including a concussion after a fall in the US Open locker room.
Dealing with these injuries and having to be away from the tennis courts gave him a learning curve.
“I’ve learned a lot in life and I’ve been through some really tough times. To be away for so long has tested my patience. It’s not like retiring and being at peace with quitting. It’s like a forced step. It’s hard to accept, mentally,” says Bouchard.
“It made me realize how much I love tennis. There are so many great things in life other than tennis, but that’s what I want to do now and for the next few years. »