Bouchard extends career on magical night at NBO

Bouchard extended her career in her hometown by beating Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in a gripping three-setter that featured completely contrasting styles. 

While Bouchard kept true to her game by wanting to attack and take balls early, Arango preferred to counter, paving the way for some incredible rallies. Bouchard won most of them as part of her 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory in two hours, 14 minutes at a rocking IGA Stadium. 

Mom Julie burst out of her chair in joy in Bouchard’s player box and seconds later, an emotional Bouchard saluted the crowd. It was her first WTA victory since 2023 -- and first in Montreal since 2016. 

Her opportunities to win matches over the years lessened, with Bouchard only playing one singles match this year prior to Montreal. Injuries and other pursuits were the reasons. As a result, she has no ranking and needed a wildcard to get into the main draw. 

READ: Eugenie Bouchard: Celebrating the Legacy of a Canadian Tennis Superstar

This, 11 years after becoming the first player to represent Canada to reach a Grand Slam singles final. 

“I didn't know what to expect,” said Bouchard. “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.”

The 31-year-old intends to focus on pickleball when her tennis career officially ends, which may not give her the same adrenaline rush as she experienced Monday night. Those fans were never more loud than when a hustling Bouchard earned a double break for 5-1 in the third, chasing balls down before authoring a forehand passing shot that prompted a backhand volley error from her opponent. 

The atmosphere at that moment, Bouchard said, felt like an out of body experience and she admitted to losing her concentration in the next game. 

“There were definitely moments where I had to kind of almost block out the noise and just pretend it was a normal point that just happened and just keep going because the crowd was very loud out there, and I really, really appreciated it,” said Bouchard. 

Bouchard inflicted damage the game before, holding from 30-all by delivering an ace that caught a tiny fraction of the line and then drilling a vintage forehand swinging volley. 

‘Rolling back the years’ is a term often used when a veteran in the latter stages of her career produces magic and besides the above, Bouchard’s punched backhand down the line on the counter late in the first set sure harkened memories of her glory days.  

Arango, world no. 82 -- who was making her tournament debut five months after a 500-level final in Mexico -- got back into the contest in the second set as Bouchard tried to finish at the net more, without much success. She speculated her time on the pickleball court adversely affected her volleys. But overall when she landed her first serve in the final two sets, Bouchard prospered, winning roughly 75 percent of those points. 

While Bouchard is on the way out in her tennis career, her next opponent, Belinda Bencic, only recently returned to action after becoming a mom. The no. 17-seeded Swiss has impressed, too, just reaching the Wimbledon semifinals. 

Her 3-0 record against Bouchard -- including a win in Toronto on the way to the 2016 title -- suggests Wednesday might not mimic Monday. If that’s the case, Bouchard (and the Genie Army) at least had the chance to savour a ‘W’ at home one last time. 

Photo: Pascal Ratthé