Bouchard will represent Canada in Rio
MONTREAL — Eugenie Bouchard has confirmed that she will represent Canada at the Rio Olympics, putting to rest any doubts about the participation of the country’s top-ranked women’s tennis player. The Montreal native announced she is heading to Rio when talking to reporters in advance of the Rogers Cup.
Bouchard was named to the Olympic team by Tennis Canada, but was said to be waiting until “the last minute” to decide whether she would accept the spot. She had expressed concerns about the Zika virus and safety in Rio.
Bouchard has seen fellow Canadian Milos Raonic and other high-profile tennis players and golfers pull out and conceded that has made her think.
“I’m truly undecided, and you see more and more people pulling out as kind of the deadline gets closer,” Bouchard said Tuesday after being eliminated in the first round of the Citi open in Washington, D.C.
“It’s just unfortunate because it would be my first Games, and to have a problem like this kind of dampening the excitement of potentially your first Olympic Games, it really sucks, to be honest,” she said.
Canada will be missing its top men’s player in Rio after Raonic announced he was skipping the event due to health concerns.
Bouchard will join Gabriela Dabrowski, Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor at the Games.
Serena withdraws from Rogers Cup
World No. 1 Serena Williams has pulled out of the Rogers Cup because of shoulder inflammation. The three-time Rogers Cup champion was seeded first in the hard-court tournament and was set to have a bye in the first round.
“Due to inflammation in my shoulder, I unfortunately must withdraw from the Rogers Cup,” Williams said in a statement. “I was looking forward to competing in Montreal and I look forward to returning soon.”
Williams is coming off her seventh career Wimbledon title earlier this month.
“Of course, we are disappointed that Serena will not play in the tournament this year. The fans really enjoyed the time she spent in the city in 2014,” tournament director Eugene Lapierre said.