Genie Bouchard launches her 2019 season with a new coach and two primary goals: play assertive and instinctual tennis.
The 2014 Wimbledon finalist, who began working with coach Michael Joyce last fall, says she's finally found clarity on court.
Watch: Rise-N-Grind Training
The 24-year-old Canadian aims to return to the aggressive baseline style that helped her reach a career-high rank of No. 5 four years ago.
"I feel at times, I got confused with what my game is," Bouchard told Michael Burgess of the New Zealand Herald. "I had some coaching changes, I felt pressure from results, I had some injuries, so I felt like I wasn't always true to my game. I like to be aggressive and take control of the points and I felt like maybe at times the past couple of years I wasn't.
"It was important for me to really focus on playing the best way for me, and that is being that aggressive baseliner, hitting my shots but having that consistency and always trying to take time away from my opponents. Going back to basics and how I play my best instinctively is going to help me the most."
Straddling the baseline, Bouchard served for a spot in the 2018 Luxembourg Open in October and build a one-set 5-3 lead before bowing to eventual-champion Julia Goerges, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 1-6.
That result helped propel the Canadian back inside the Top 100. Bouchard carries a current ranking of No. 87 into next week's ASB Classic in Auckland.
🐎
A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) on
Though she's four years removed from her best results and hasn't reached a Tour-level final in more than two years, Bouchard believes she's coping with the pressure of rebuilding her ranking with more maturity these days.
"For a year after [the Wimbledon final], my life changed," said Bouchard. "I was suddenly in the public eye and I felt tremendous pressure to keep up my level, keep up the results. But since then, I have learned a lot. I feel like I have gone through this rollercoaster of life within my career and I feel like pressure is ultimately just what you put on yourself. So I need to have a clear mind, not put pressure on myself and just try to play free. And you know, who cares what people say?"
Photo credit: BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open Facebook