MONTREAL — Eugenie Bouchard’s farewell tournament is set to commence against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango at the National Bank Open, proudly brought to you by Rogers.
After an impressive ascent to No. 5 in the WTA rankings in her standout 2014 season, Bouchard has announced her retirement will take place following her performance in this beloved hometown event.
The 31-year-old Westmount, Quebec native captured headlines when she reached the Wimbledon final in 2014, where she was narrowly defeated by Petra Kvitova in straight sets. She made history as the first Canadian woman in the Open Era to compete in a Grand Slam singles final.
Bouchard has secured a main-draw wild card for the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal, which kicked off with qualifying rounds on Saturday.
This year’s tournament introduces an exciting new format, extending over 12 days with a competitive 96-player lineup. The top 32 seeds, including world No. 2 Coco Gauff, have been awarded byes into the second round.
A historic eight Canadians will be featured in the main draw, with the potential for that number to grow as five additional players compete in the qualifying round.
Emerging talent Victoria Mboko from Toronto is set to face off against Australia’s Kimberly Birrell in first-round action.
Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, Ontario, who clinched victory in Toronto in 2019, will tackle a challenging opening match against Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam champion.
Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec — the highest-ranked Canadian at 36th in the world — will go up against American Maya Joint.
