“I am doing it because I think I still can” – Bouchard remains motivated to return to the top

Former top 5 player Eugenie Bouchard believes she will be in contention to win the big titles in tennis else she would have been pursuing something else.

Bouchard has been on the comeback mend since August after nearly a year and a half on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury. The road back up has been slow with an 8-11 win-loss record highlighted by a quarter-final finish in Chennai, India in September, 2022.

The 29-year-old from Canada, who is now ranked No 298 in the world, is playing the ITF W100 event in Oeiras, Portugal this week where she spoke to the media prior to the start of the tournament.

“Of course (I see myself fighting for title again and winning). I feel like I wouldn’t put in all this time and effort if I didn’t still believe that. It’s a lot to come back from injuries, takes a lot of patience, a lot of time, a lot of energy and life is short. I am doing it because I think I still can. If I didn’t, I would be having babies or something else,” Bouchard said.

The former Wimbledon runner-up also added that the thought of retirement did cross her mind during her time away but she did not want to walk away from the sport having any regrets.

“It’s been very difficult, there’s no secret about it and I’d be lying if I said it (retirement) didn’t cross my mind,” she added. “It has been a very long process and I thought if it was worth it, but then I decided yes because I would regret it if I let an injury stop me. I missed the competition while I was on the sidelines and that also motivated me.”

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