Eugenie Bouchard withdraws from Wimbledon due to ranking points loss

Originally posted on Tennisbuzz | Last updated 6/17/22

Eugenie Bouchard has withdrawn from Wimbledon, saying the lack of ranking points is the reason behind her decision.

Bouchard is a former finalist at Wimbledon having lost out to Petra Kvitova in 2014.

She has disappeared from prominence since, though, and does not even have a WTA world ranking due to inactivity.

Some of that is down to injury, and she still has a limited amount of protected ranking entries to use as a result.

The Canadian had planned on using one of those for Wimbledon, but with no ranking points on offer she had opted to save it instead.

“Due to my shoulder surgery I get a limited number of protected ranking (PR) entries,” Bouchard said.

“As much as I love Wimbledon, and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn’t make sense.

“I must choose wisely and use my PR entries at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be.

Wimbledon 2022 pic.twitter.com/I4MMGPkfvv

— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) June 17, 2022

“I will now use my two Grand Slam PR entries for the US Open and Australian Open.”

Eugenie Bouchard, 28, is a former world number five, although she has not played since losing to Zhu Lin in the first round of Monterrey in March 2021.

Wimbledon has been stripped of it’s ranking points this year in response to their decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players due to the conflict in Ukraine.

While other players, such as Naomi Osaka, has suggested that is likely to make them reconsider their plans to play the tournament, Bouchard is the first to openly cite the ranking points issue as a reason for a withdrawal.

Author’s comment: Although a few players have threatened to withdraw because of the loss of rankings points, few can blame Bouchard here.

Her protected ranking is is a big asset to her – she arguably doesn’t have a tennis career without it at this point – and she needs to make the absolute most out of it. Wimbledon is not in a position to help her do that this summer. It’s wise move.

This article first appeared on Tennisbuzz and was syndicated with permission.

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