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By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, July 1, 2015

 
Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep

Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep both lost in the opening round of this year's Wimbledon. What's in the future for both of these recent Grand Slam contenders?

Photo Credit: Getty Images


On Tuesday at Wimbledon, one couldn't help but notice the different yet parallel symmetry in the pair of opening round losses for both Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep.

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Both women, after enjoying breakthrough seasons in 2014, have struggled in different ways this year. Both are still very young and possess immense talent. While each was able to describe the reasons for their recent declines, the apparent solutions aren't so tangible.

Of the pair, Bouchard has endured the hardest fall. After reaching last year's Wimbledon final, Bouchard was hailed by many at the future of the WTA. That was before Petra Kvitova dismantled her in one of the most near-perfect performances in a major final in recent memory. Since then, Bouchard has been a shell of her former glory. In 2015, Bouchard has endured multiple opening round losses, and now with her first round exit at Wimbledon, is projected to fall out of the top 20 completely.

Bouchard, who has dealt with injuries this season including leading up to Wimbledon, admitted after her loss to World No. 117 Duan Ying-Ying of China that she was not as healthy as she would have liked.

"I'm not as strong as I want to be," Bouchard said. "I haven't been the past couple months. It's something I've realized and I've started to address. I want to find a good trainer who can make me as strong as I can be so I don't get these injuries."

While being at optimal health is a necessity for Bouchard, one can't help but also consider the numerous off-court appearances and promotions the young Canadian has been a part of since her meteoric rise last year. It's no secret that the WTA promoted Bouchard as the next major superstar, and even with the best scheduling and intentions, that's a lot of pressure and expectation to live up to. Some wonder if it all was too much to ask. Or to put it another way, was it really fair for so many to describe her as the next Maria Sharapova? Shouldn't "Genie" be allowed to define herself on her own terms?

"If I can have the success I know I can have eventually, it will be that much sweeter,” Bouchard added. “It’s been a great learning process, to have great results, so much attention, then have bad results. Learning about the ups and downs of life."

The excitement and expectations for Bouchard certainly brought in many new fans to the sport. But the most important thing for her right now is perhaps to take some time off, get healthy, and decide what's the best course for her. Not many people can say they've had the same roller coaster 12 months she's had. She's earned the right to step away and come back on her own terms.

That leads us to Simona Halep and, for her, yet another early round loss at a major. Take nothing away from the performance of Jana Cepelova. The feisty, young Slovakian once again proved that she has the game to beat anyone (See Serena Williams at Charleston last year).

Still, Halep was once again left to explain herself in a year when many thought by now she should have won her first major title.

"I had a few losses before coming here," Halep said after the loss. "My confidence wasn't too high. During the matches it's difficult because you feel the pressure. If you don't handle it there very well, you might lose. I knew it would be difficult, but not like today, to be honest."

Halep seemed on course to take the next step this season. Especially after her razor-thin defeat to Serena Williams in the Miami semifinals. But since then, Halep has not reached a final. Plenty predicted she would win the French Open. Yet she bowed out in the second round to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (who beat her also at the US Open) That was after her quarterfinal loss in Melbourne to Ekaterina Makarova where the Romanian vowed later she would not be satisfied with just making the elite eight of a major.

While Halep has not had to deal, in some parts, with the worldwide crush of attention that Bouchard has, it doesn't takeaway from the fact that Halep still appears to be coming to terms with her new status as an elite player on the WTA tour. Perhaps Halep's need to balance her natural defensive game with a more aggressive stance mirror her own struggle to figure out the right mix as a player and personality. After all, how many stadiums across the world have we not heard "Simona! Simona!" being chanted by fans, many of them non-Romanian. Certainly a testament to Halep's growing popularity, but also something to live up to each time she steps out on court.

In both the women's and men's tours, we've seen plenty of players enjoy sudden success over the years only then to suffer something of a "sophomore slump" the following season. And plenty of those bounced back and achieved bigger results once they sorted out their on-court and off-court lives. Bouchard and Halep certainly are experiencing growing pains in terms of being players and stars of the women's game. But both are exceptional talents and hopefully, with some time away each will find the right balance they each need to enjoy success again on the biggest stages of the sport.

 

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