Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has won her first match on the WTA Tour in 18 months.Bouchard, who has been recovering from shoulder surgery, last recorded a WTA Tour victory at the Guadalajara Open in March 2021.She made her comeback at the Vancouver Open in August, but lost in the first round to Arianne Hartono. The 28-year-old then failed to qualify for the main draw of the US Open.Bouchard finally racked up a win after beating Joanne Zuger 7-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Chennai Open. She will play in the second round on Wednesday, with her next opponent yet to be determined.The former Wimbledon finalist has plummeted down the WTA rankings in recent years, and currently sits at world number 902.Bouchard will hope to put together a run at the Chennai Open as she starts to work her way back up the standings.

Video: Watch Eugenie Bouchard win her first WTA Tour match in 18 months

Who is Eugenie Bouchard?

Bouchard burst onto the scene in 2014 after reaching the final at Wimbledon.

She had already reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and French Open earlier in the year, and despite losing to Petra Kvitová at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Bouchard was thrust into the limelight.

Touted to become a dominant force in years to come, Bouchard signed lucrative sponsorship deals with Coca-Cola, Rogers Communications and Nike.

She couldn’t replicate this success on court, however, and has failed to make it past the third round of a Grand Slam since 2016.

Bouchard has also won just one WTA title during her career, triumphing at the Nuremberg Cup in 2014.

Despite this, she is still one of the most recognisable tennis players around. Indeed, SportsPro named her the world’s most marketable athlete in 2015.

Eugenie Bouchard praises Serena Williams

While recovering from injury, Bouchard began working as a commentator for Tennis Channel.

She recently gave her thoughts on the news that Serena Williams would be “evolving away from tennis” after the US Open.

"I think everyone has been talking about how it's not just on the court of course, but off the court, as she has inspired so many people and has really transcended the sport,” Bouchard said.

“I mean, she has brought so much awareness. I have been inspired by her personally in my tennis career and I know that so many more people play tennis because of her and that just makes me so happy.

"We see it just from this past week how the entire world is talking about Serena and we are all just lucky and happy to see this career come to an end in such a nice way.”