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Bouchard: Time For Action



Genie Bouchard believes it’s important to feel the pressure posed by passing time.

The former world No. 5 could do without media stress.

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In the aftermath of her 6-3, 6-4 loss to Donna Vekic in the opening round of the Rogers Cup, the 23-year-old Canadian wild card said she feels urgency to halt her downward spiral.

“I mean, I guess I'm relatively young, but I feel old in a way,” Bouchard told the media in Toronto. “You know, I've been on tour a bunch of years already.

“And I think it's important to feel the pressure of time a little bit, to get into action, you know, and not just relax and let years go by. That would be the worst thing I could do. But if the media doesn't put pressure on me, I mean, that would be nice.”

The 70th-ranked Bouchard dropped to 10-15 on the season, including 10 opening-round exits in 15 tournament starts.

In an effort to earn more match play and regain her confidence, Bouchard dropped down to tennis’ minor leagues back in April. She played the $80,000 ITF event in Indian Harbour Beach where Bouchard reached the quarterfinals before falling to 896th-ranked Victoria Duval.



The 2014 Wimbledon finalist called it “a humbling experience” and a learning experience.

"It was definitely a humbling experience and a bit of an eye-opening experience as well to see, obviously, the difference in the level of the tournament," Bouchard said. "I mean, we didn't even need badges to get on site. You know, people just walked up and there were just so many huge differences.

"And it was something I wanted to go do myself and, actually, my whole team was against it, but I'm very glad I did. ... There was great level of tennis, and I didn't even win the tournament."

The trip back to the ITF circuit also reminded Bouchard there is only one antidote for losing.

"You know, kind of grinding at this level," Bouchard said. "This is what you would have to do if you keep losing — so stop losing."

Photo credit: Rogers Cup Facebook

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