By Chris Oddo | Monday January 8, 2018
Eugenie Bouchard fell to Aryna Sabalenka in Hobart and will fall outside of the Top 10 next Monday.
Photo Source: AP
Eugenie Bouchard’s ranking is slipping precipitously, as her losing streak stretched to 10 with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to 19-year-old Aryna Sabalenka at the Hobart International on Monday in Tasmania.
But the 22-year-old Canadian is not going to let it be the death of her. “It is what it is,” Bouchard said, according to Tennis Smash. “My ranking will obviously drop a little bit after this week and I have points to defend next week, but it’s not something I think about too much in terms of defending. For me, I just try to see it as I start the year at zero and try to do as well as I can. This thing of defending points I’ve never really understood.”
Bouchard drops out of the Top 100 for the first time since April of 2013, and if she doesn’t earn some ranking points in the next month she could find herself playing qualifying at Indian Wells, Miami and perhaps even when the summer Slams roll around.
Bouchard has not won since the first round of the New Haven Open last August and her streak of losses is now at nine if one counts her three setbacks at last week’s Hopman Cup.
After beginning her season with a semifnal run at Sydney last season, Bouchard won just eight of her final 27 matches. She reached the third round at the Australian Open last season, and if she does not match that effort she will drop even further down than her current projected ranking of 112.