What Martina Navratilova once said Eugenie Bouchard had the potential to achieve that never actually came true

Eugenie Bouchard has not lived up to a lot of expectations that people had for her.

Bouchard has officially announced that she will be retiring from tennis at the Canadian Open this year.

The 31-year-old’s best career season on the WTA Tour came in 2014, and Bouchard has admitted she has regrets about her tennis career.

These regrets are highlighted by what Martina Navratilova predicted for Bouchard 12 years ago.

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What Martina Navratilova once said could happen to Eugenie Bouchard

At 19 years old, Bouchard made her Wimbledon debut in 2013, coming through a tight opener against qualifier Galina Voskoboeva.

The Canadian teenager would then play 12th seed and former Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic.

Despite being ranked 48 places below her Serbian opponent, Bouchard would beat Ivanovic, 6-3 6-3, in a statement victory on Centre Court.

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After watching Bouchard beat Ivanovic, nine-time champion Navratilova told Wimbledon.com how impressed she was by the teenager.

Navratilova went on to predict Bouchard to climb into the top 20 in the WTA rankings by the end of the year, claiming that she could be a future Grand Slam champion.

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“That was very impressive,” said Navratilova. “She showed very great composure mentally, rising to the occasion. I like everything – she showed great shot selection and held up well under pressure, she has a technically sound game and she constructs points well.

“If she continues like this she will be top 20 at least by the end of the year. I don’t want to say a star is born but we have seen a potential Grand Slam champion here.”

What happened to Eugenie Bouchard?

Despite Navratilova’s big prediction for Bouchard, things did not quite play out the way she had expected.

Bouchard did continue her rise up the WTA rankings and would make her top 20, top 10 and top five debut in 2014.

The best season of her career came in 2014, when Bouchard won her first WTA title and achieved her three best Grand Slam results.

After reaching the semifinals at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, Bouchard would reach the Wimbledon final.

However, she would lose the final in straight sets to Petra Kvitova, who is also retiring this year.

Eugenie Bouchard’s Career Achievements Career-high ranking No.5 Number of titles 1 (Nuremburg Cup 2014) Best Grand Slam record Wimbledon Final (2014) Win-loss Record against top 10 players 12-29 (29%)

This was the highlight of Bouchard’s career, who would only reach one Grand Slam quarterfinal after 2014.

Injuries have played a big part in disrupting the career of Bouchard, who underwent shoulder surgery in 2021.

Bouchard has not played in the main draw of a major tournament since Roland Garros in 2020, and has switched between tennis and pickleball in recent years.

The now unranked WTA player will play her final tournament at her home tournament in Montreal, which begins on Sunday, July 27, after receiving a wildcard.

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