Bouchard Withdraws From The Wuhan Open

Photo courtesy of vavel.com

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has withdrawn from the WTA tournament in Wuhan, China after flying to the event all the way from Florida. Bouchard was to face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the first round at the event.

The official reason for the retirement has been quoted as ‘ongoing concussion issues’ by the WTA. Croatia’s lucky loser Ajla Tomljanovic will replace the 21-year-old Canadian in the Wuhan draw.

Unable to defend points from her final appearance at Wuhan a year ago, Bouchard has now fallen from No.26 to No.36 in the WTA singles rankings, effective Monday. She is, however, expected to take part in two more events in Asia during the next few weeks, in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Bouchard, who retired from the US Open after suffering an unusual concussion injury during a locker-room incident, had lost 13 of her 16 matches in 2015 prior to the last Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

At the US Open, Bouchard was to face eventual finalist Roberta Vinci in the Round of 16 before she slipped in the locker-room following her mixed doubles match with partner Nick Kyrgios. She was later pictured in New York with a hoodie pulled over her head and sunglasses on, desperately trying to cover a head injury.

The rising star had a breakthrough year in 2014 when she was a runner-up at Wimbledon and reached the semifinals at both the Australian and French Open.

This year, however, has been nothing short of a horror run for Bouchard. She hasn’t even made it to the quarterfinals of a single WTA event the whole year; barring a quarter-finals appearance at the Australian Open (an ITF event).

The level of endorsements and media attention, however, has not dropped for the Canadian who is often in the limelight due to her attractive looks. In 2014, Bouchard signed a three-year endorsement deal with Coca-Cola and she is also tied up with several other big companies including Nike and Babolat.