Eugenie Bouchard continued her return to form with a straight sets win against India’s Karman Thandi in Chennai. Bouchard won her first professional singles match in 18 months earlier this week and backed up her victory with another impressive display against the crowd favourite. The Canadian was a break down in the second set, but recovered to claim a 6-2 7-6 win and reach the quarter-finals. Since bursting onto the scene as a youngster, Bouchard has enjoyed a difficult time and has not featured in a major competition since the French Open in 2020. Yet, the Canadian will take confidence from her recent performances and will be desperate to carry on her run in Chennai as she bids to climb back up the rankings. Is this the start of a resurgence for the former tennis prodigy? It’s perhaps too soon to say. But sometimes, all it takes is belief and the Canadian has proven in the past that she has the talent. 

Video: Watch Eugenie Bouchard win her second match in a row at the Chennai Open 

What happened to Bouchard? 

Back in 2014, Bouchard rose through the ranks to become tennis’ most marketable star. 

The Canadian reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, before becoming the first-ever Canadian to reach the final of Wimbledon. 

Her performances saw her soar into the world’s top 10 and she was named the WTA Most Improved Player that season. 

However, Bouchard’s form soon slipped and two years later, she returned to the ITF circuit in the hope of finding some form. 

Since 2016, Bouchard has failed to win a single WTA title and has not reached beyond the third round of any Grand Slam. 

Back in 2021, It did appear that Bouchard was returning to form after she reached the final of the Abierto Zapopan tournament in Mexico. 

Unfortunately, though, the 28-year-old was forced to have shoulder surgery soon after, which saw her plummet back down the rankings once again. 

Recently, Bouchard has been recovering from this surgery and registered her first victory in 18 months against Joanne Zugar on Tuesday. 

Can Bouchard return to the top 100? 

The 28-year-old is currently ranked 902nd in the world and will have to rely on wildcards for entry into many of the most prestigious WTA events.

However, the Canadian does still have some protected ranking entries up her sleeve and will likely choose to use one of these to enter the Australian Open next year. 

Bouchard’s highest ranking came back in 2014 when she reached as high as fifth.