Genie Bouchard pulls out of upcoming Calgary tennis tournament
Calgary won’t get a dose of Genie Bouchard after all.
Bouchard, the former World No. 5 star and Canadian tennis icon, has withdrawn from the upcoming Calgary National Bank Challenger because of illness.
“I woke up this morning feeling sick, and I am not going to be able to play next week in Calgary,” Bouchard said in a statement shared in a release by the tournament. “I am grateful to the tournament for offering me a wildcard and I am sad not to be able to participate. Competing on home soil is always special and look forwarding to competing in Canada soon.”
We have some unfortunate news 😢
Former World #5 withdraws due to illness after competing in Michigan 🤒
CALGARY (AB) – Former World #5 Tennis Player and Canadian Tennis Star @geniebouchard has withdrawn from the upcoming Calgary National Bank Challenger due to illness. pic.twitter.com/k7gKW9hkaC
— CalgaryNBChallenger (@YYCNBChallenger) November 3, 2022
The Calgary National Bank Challenger is scheduled to take place from November 6 to 13 at the Osten and Victor Alberta Tennis Centre.
Bouchard had previously confirmed her attendance last month.
“Today, we were advised by Genie’s agent, Chris McCormack from GSE Worldwide, that Genie had to withdraw from our event due to illness,” said Danny Da Costa, tournament director for the Calgary National Bank Challenger. “We were looking forward to having Genie with us in Calgary, but an athlete’s health is critical to peak performance, and we respect her decision to withdraw at this time.”
Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon finalist, missed more than a calendar year of tennis due to a shoulder injury, returning to competitive tennis at the Odlum Brown VanOpen in West Vancouver in August after 17 months off.
She was once slotted as high as No. 5 on the WTA Tour, but has dropped considerably in recent years. Bouchard is still one of the most famous tennis players in the world, though, and the Montreal product has 2.3 million followers on Instagram.
Bouchard, currently ranked No. 328, joins Kei Nishikori, who injured his ankle, as withdrawals from the tournament. Canadian Vasek Pospisil remains a high-profile participant at the Calgary National Bank Challenger.