Eugenie Bouchard has revealed she still can’t bring herself to watch her 2014 Wimbledon final performance, admitting it’s “too painful” even 10 years later.
After a remarkable run, including wins at the Indian Wells Open and the French Open, Bouchard became the first Canadian-born player to reach a Grand Slam singles final. However, she suffered a crushing 6-3, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final – which had a lasting impact on her form and mental health.
Speaking on the Tennis Insider podcast, the 30-year-old said: “I still, to this day, have not rewatched the finals, because I just can’t. It’s like, too painful for me.
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“I got killed, which maybe is a blessing in disguise, because you know when you come so close to winning a match, and then you lose it, and you’re replaying over and over in your head what you could have done better on a break point or a match point… Like I said in the moment, it felt normal, like I was just putting my head down and working hard and playing well and just continuing this ride of confidence.
“I was so happy, and I wouldn’t really say surprised. It’s more like I believed in myself, or I’ve been working towards this every single day for for years and years and years. So it’s kind of happy, but I always knew I could do well and it was more of a relief for all the hard work and trusting yourself, because I believed I could do it.
“And then, I showed myself I could do it, so you kind of trust yourself and obviously looking back, I’m like, ‘wow, I did this crazy thing’, but in the moment I was in my little bubble for this match.”
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(Image: Robert Prange/Getty Images)
Bouchard also revealed that she didn’t feel nervous in the matches leading up to the Wimbledon final, but a physical reaction showed her how much this tournament really meant to her. She added: “It’s interesting, I never felt nervous before any of the matches in that tournament specifically, except for the final.
“I remember sitting in the locker room and feeling my hands sweat and like my hands like, never sweat. And so it was like a physical reaction that showed me, ‘wow, my brain is making me think about this differently’. So I was definitely very nervous for the final.”
The Montreal-born athlete is still competing in tennis, having recently won the BJK Cup with Canada for the first time in the country’s history in 2023.