Eugenie Bouchard bids farewell to singles tennis in emotional Montreal farewell

Montreal: Eugenie Bouchard’s professional singles career came to an end in front of a home crowd in Montreal, where the former Wimbledon finalist lost a hard-fought second-round match at the Omnium Banque Nationale to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, 2-6, 6-3, 4-6.

The 31-year-old Canadian, who reached a career-high world No. 5 and was the first from her country to play in a Grand Slam singles final, had earlier announced this tournament would be her final singles appearance. She had thrilled fans with a first-round win earlier in the week—her first since 2023—but couldn’t hold off Bencic despite briefly leading in the final set.

In a teary on-court farewell, Bouchard said it was special to end her career where it all began. “I remember being a little kid sitting in these stands, dreaming I’d play here one day. It feels like such a full-circle moment,” she said.

Bouchard leaves the sport with 158 career singles wins, a WTA title in Nürnberg, a Billie Jean King Cup win in 2023, and nearly $7 million in prize money. She is expected to continue playing doubles and has ventured into broadcasting and professional pickleball.

Elsewhere in Montreal, second seed Iga Swiatek picked up where she left off after her Wimbledon title, easing past Chinese qualifier Guo Hanyu 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka battled from the brink, saving two match points to outlast Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3. Osaka, who recently split with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, showed renewed fight under new mentor Tomasz Wiktorowski.

Jessica Pegula, the defending champion, overcame Maria Sakkari 7-5, 6-4 after saving five set points, while sixth seed Madison Keys swept past Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-1.