Tennis is a very strange sport in that it is played every single week of the year and the general public is always looking for new face. Back in 2014, women’s tennis was in a bit of strange spot as Serena Williams was struggling to win majors and there was not one dominate person on tour. Suddenly, a tall and blonde girl made it to the semi-finals of the first two majors and the final of Wimbledon.
Everyone in the tennis world was ready to hail the arrival of a new star but just as quickly as she rose, that same girl fell from grace almost as quickly. With an inconsistent game style, many have been left wondering about the state of Bouchard’s game and her overall motivation.
Bouchard’s game has not improved
Something that every top player will tell you is how important it is to continue improving your game. In tennis, there are always going to be younger players who will look to knock you off of the top spot and take your crown. For Bouchard, she has always possessed a lot of power on her groundstrokes but with that power, she tends to lose control of the ball.
In 2014, the women’s tour knew very little about the Canadian, as she had only been tour for a couple of seasons. Bouchard hugged the baseline and took the ball extremely early. Many of the female players do not take the ball on the rise and instead retreat behind the baseline in order to have more time to get into rallies. This worked in Bouchard’s favor and allowed her to win a great deal of matches and make her way into the top ten. However, the longer a person stays at the top, the more people observe your game style. By the 2015 season, the tour had figured out Bouchard’s game style and her easy wins became close losses. With each loss, her confidence sank even further.
Her mentality is not that of a champion
To become a tennis champion, you have to rough, tough and want to win badly. Players like Serena Williams can check all of those requirements off and (I’m sure) add a few more. Bouchard is a player that has all of the technical skills to become a top player again but the mentality and ability to push through her tough moments does not seem there. Bouchard reminds me of the figure skater, Gracie Gold in that both women experience great success but are now struggling to recapture that winning feeling. Bouchard’s off court interests have also been criticized with a recent swim suit photoshoot for Sports Illustrated making its way through the tennis world. Bouchard seems more interested in making the news for losing a Superbowl bet then getting in shape to win tournaments.
The one thing that Bouchard does have going for her is the fact that she is young. She comes into the 2017 with little to no expectations on her and with that knowledge may finally start to regain her lost momentum. She has a great coach at the moment who can hopefully bring out the champion in her because if she waits for too long, it could mark the end of what could have been a great career.