Genie Bouchard making comeback in Vancouver after 17 months away from tennis

Aug 9 2022, 10:46 pm

After 17 months away from the sport, Genie Bouchard will make her tennis comeback at the Odlum Brown VanOpen tennis tournament this weekend.

The 28-year-old Montreal native has received a wild card entry into the women’s main draw of the WTA 125 event, which takes place August 13-21 at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.

Bouchard hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in March of last year.

Canada’s first-ever Grand Slam singles finalist reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world in 2014.

Bouchard was ranked 116th in the world prior to her injury. This will be her first appearance at the VanOpen since 2019.

Other players receiving wild card entries include Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Carol Zhao in the women’s tournament, and Canadians Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo on the men’s side.

The largest men’s and women’s tennis tournament in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, many well-known tennis stars played at the VanOpen before becoming famous.

Maria Sharapova won the inaugural VanOpen women’s singles title in 2002, while Johanna Konta won in 2013 and 2015 before becoming a top-10 player for the first time in 2016. Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, and Leylah Fernandez also played at Hollyburn before becoming household names.

Before winning the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, Andy Murray played at the VanOpen. So did Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

This year’s men’s tournament is a $159,360 USD ATP Challenger Tour event, which features six top-100 players in the world. That list doesn’t include Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil, who is currently ranked 147th, and confirmed to play.

Eight top-100 women’s players are confirmed for the $115,000 USD WTA 125 event, including Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino, who is currently ranked 96th on the WTA Tour.

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