Perhaps we can trace the decline in confidence back to the initial insult. In 2014, Eugenie Bouchard got to the Wimbledon final and many expected it to be a great match against Petra Kvitova (Kvitova had won Wimbledon in 2011) because Bouchard had stormed through the draw without losing a set. Yet, she got to the final and her game completely fell apart and she lost 3-6, 0-6. It was not that she lost that shocked the tennis world, it was the way she lost.

Bouchard Wins First Title

Bouchard won her first title in May 2014 and although she got to other finals in 2014, she did not win the titles. In 2016, she got to two more finals; however, again she was not able to win those matches. Once ranked as high as number five (10/20/2014, Bouchard ended the 2014 season ranked as number seven; however, since then she has ended the year outside the top forty.

Bouchard Ranked Outside Top 100

Her performance on court has been inconsistent and erratic, in part because she has lost her confidence in her game and in part because of injury and all the drama surrounding her. Five years later and Bouchard is ranked outside the top hundred (112). The talent is still there as was evident in moments in her match the other night against Lauren Davis when she made some brilliant shots; however, the lack of confidence was also apparent when she made so many strange unforced errors.

Will Bouchard ever recover the form that saw her get to the semifinals and final of the majors? Will she ever win another singles title on the WTA Tour? I would like to think that she is talented enough and young enough to potentially turn things around; however, I remember another famous tennis player who lost her confidence and never recovered (Anna Kournikova).

Sometimes the pressure of expectations becomes such a heavy burden that the mind loses the ability to get past that block and ultimately the game completely falls apart. I hope Bouchard can rediscover her belief and her game because it was a pleasure to watch her play at her best.

SOURCE OF IMAGES: serveandrally originals (Eugenie Bouchard)