Eugenie Bouchard’s 2015 season has not gone the way anyone really expected after her impressive play last year, especially at the Grand Slams. Since this year’s Australian Open, Bouchard has won just three of twelve matches and has lost her on-court confidence.
If Bouchard didn’t reach rock bottom before the French Open, she certainly did when she lost in straight sets to Kristina Mladenovic in her first round match of the French Open. It was the first time in her career Bouchard had lost her first-round match of a Grand Slam. With the loss her ranking dropped to #11 in the world and she is now outside the top ten for the first time in a year.
Even with all the negativity and dark clouds surrounding the Bouchard camp at the moment there is still hope. The WTA Tour now shifts away from the clay and onto the grass which Bouchard has said to be her favourite surface.
Can the grass help Eugenie Bouchard?
Yes, the grass could be exactly what Bouchard needs to turn her year around. It could give her some much-needed confidence because she is on a surface she has had most of her success on in the past and she loves to play on it. Grass is where she won her Junior Wimbledon singles title back in 2012 and her Junior Wimbledon doubles titles in 2011 and 2012. To cap it off she reached the final of Wimbledon last year without dropping a set until she lost in the final to Petra Kvitova.
The grass could spur on the 21-year-old’s confidence especially if she can put a string of wins together–something she hasn’t done since the Australian Open.
Bouchard is scheduled to compete in three grass court tournaments leading up to Wimbledon. She starts her grass court season at the Topshelf Open in the Netherlands this week followed by the Aegon Classic and the Aegon International in the U.K. in the following weeks.
This year is also the start of the new three-week break between the French Open and Wimbledon to give players more time to prepare and make the transition from clay to grass. Bouchard could benefit greatly from the added week as she needs the playing time.
Bouchard has played little tennis this year because of her struggles resulting in early exits. She can’t improve her game just on the practice courts; she needs more match play and the only way you get more match play is by scheduling to play more.
For a player as talented as Bouchard something will eventually click; last year was no fluke. Bouchard’s aggressive game style was working but she hit a wall with injuries and right now she has lost her confidence. The more matches she plays will give her a greater chance of getting out of her slump. Once she starts winning matches again she will be able then to start working on improving her game to another level. For now though she needs to focus on getting her confidence back and doing the basics right, and grass gives her the best opportunity to do that.
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