"If I win this tournament, I won't quit," Bouchard's surprising victory in Montreal
For the final tournament of her career, Bouchard faced Colombia's Arango (82nd) in the first round of the WTA 1000 in Montreal.
To everyone's surprise, the Canadian prevailed in just over two hours with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. A remarkable victory given how little she had played over the past two years. Once ranked world No. 5 at her peak, the 31-year-old had not won a match since September 2023. Moreover, her last victory in this event dated back to 2016. She even declared on court after the match that if she were to win the title in Canada, she would reconsider her decision: "If I win this tournament, I won't quit."
For context, Bouchard had chosen to put her tennis career on hold to pursue a new passion: padel. Between 2024 and 2025, she played only five matches, the most recent being in Newport (a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Rogers).
She will face a tough challenge in the next round against Switzerland's Bencic (20th), a recent Wimbledon semifinalist and former winner of this tournament (2015).
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