Eugenie Bouchard enters Madrid Open main draw after six-year gap, dominates qualifying rounds

Eugenie Bouchard is set to play her first WTA 1000 main-draw match on clay in six years after qualifying for the 2023 Madrid Open on Tuesday (April 25). Bouchard beat Elizabeth Mandlik 6-3, 6-2 in the second and final qualifying round to book her place in the main draw.

The former World No. 5 last played in the main draw of a WTA 1000 event on clay at the same tournament in 2017, when she reached the quarterfinals. Back then, Bouchard beat Alize Cornet, two-time French Open champion Maria Sharapova, and top seed Angelique Kerber to reach the last eight. Her campaign ended with a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Earlier this week, Bouchard beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 4-1 in the first round of qualifying after the Spanish player was forced to retire in the second set due to an injury.

Bouchard reached the Wimbledon final as well as the Wuhan Open final in 2014, which remains her best result at a WTA 1000 tournament. The Canadian's last appearance in the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament (across surfaces) was at last year's Guadalajara Open, where she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.

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Eugenie Bouchard draws inspiration from Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina

Eugenie Bouchard competes during the WTA Guadalajara Open Akron 2022.

Eugenie Bouchard is thrilled to see players with aggressive gamestyles enjoying success on the WTA tour of late, highlighting the rise of both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

The Canadian feels that her playing style is also highly aggressive, which could certainly see her make key inroads on the tour on her comeback trail.

"We see a lot of big hitters that are winning all the tournaments," Bouchard said in a press conference at the recent Oeiras Ladies Open. "We have Elena Rybakina and (Aryna) Sabalenka just like in the finals of almost every tournament."

"It's interesting to see that the game style is kind of still the one that's dominating at the ultimate end, and for me I like that because I have an aggressive game style and that's more how I want to play and it's motivating to see that."

Bouchard is currently ranked No. 285 in the WTA singles rankings.