Canada's Bouchard ends career with hard-fought loss at National Bank Open

Eugenie Bouchard waved goodbye to professional tennis with a hard-fought loss Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., electrified the home crowd, but bowed out to 17th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the National Bank Open's second round after announcing the tournament would be her last.

Bouchard had extended her Montreal run with a first-round upset Monday night against Emiliana Arango — her first WTA Tour victory since 2023 — and showed flashes of the aggressive game that once powered her rise to world No. 5 in 2014.

The local favourite turned back the clock again Wednesday by rallying from down a set, but Bencic held on to win the match in two hours 16 minutes.

Montrealers packed the centre court stands at IGA Stadium, chanted “Let’s Go Genie!” and grew louder throughout the warm summer night, standing up for several ovations.

"It's so special to play my last match here in Montreal, on this court, in front of you guys," Bouchard said during an on-court ceremony after the match, wiping tears from her eyes. "I remember being a little kid, sitting in these stands, hoping and dreaming that I would play on this court one day.

"It feels like such a full circle moment to finish my career here."

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After winning the second set, Bouchard went up a break early in the third, taking a back-and-forth third game when Bencic sent her shot into the net on the Canadian’s fifth break-point opportunity.

Bencic, however, regrouped and broke back to tie at 3-3 in an error-filled game for Bouchard.

Trailing 5-4 and needing to hold serve, Bouchard fell in a 40-love hole and sent her backhand wide while defending the second match point.

“Tennis has given me so much, I am filled with so much gratitude for this sport and all the people who helped me along the way," Bouchard said before turning to her parents and siblings in attendance. "I want you guys to know that when this crowd cheers for me, they're cheering for you guys too."

In a roller-coaster career, Bouchard peaked during a banner 2014 season, winning her only WTA title, reaching the Australian Open and French Open semis and becoming the first Canadian woman to play in a Grand Slam final in the open era at Wimbledon.

But Bouchard’s rapid rise also quickly came falling down after her 6-3, 6-0 loss to Petra Kvitova at the All England Club.

Her highly anticipated homecoming one month later ended abruptly with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 loss against American qualifier Shelby Rogers at the then-called Rogers Cup. And the following year, Bouchard crashed out of the French Open and Wimbledon first rounds as losing streaks piled up.

A run to the U.S. Open fourth round hinted at a return to form, until Bouchard suffered a concussion from slipping in the locker room — for which she later filed a lawsuit — forcing her to withdraw from the tournament.

In recent years, Bouchard has sporadically played on the pro tennis circuit, spending more time on the PPA Pickleball Tour, where she ranks 12th in singles.

She ramped up for her final event with the WTA 125 Hall of Fame Open in July — her first tournament since last year’s NBO — and lost her opener in straight sets.

Bencic now holds a 4-0 head-to-head advantage over Bouchard, including a first-round win at the 2015 Rogers Cup in Toronto en route to winning the title.

The 28-year-old Bencic broke Bouchard early with a backhand winner in the third game. She then went up 5-2 with another break, with Bouchard spraying shots wide and into the net, before serving out the first set.

In the second set, Bouchard found a rhythm with her forehand ground strokes, breaking Bencic with a winner that just touched the back line to go up 5-3. She then held serve to force a third set.

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