PARIS – At a recent tournament in Madrid, Genie Bouchard lost her phone. At first it was a nightmare scenario for the 22-year-old, but it turned into what she describes as a life-changing experience.
"It was actually very eye-opening," Bouchard said. "I really discovered how much of an addiction it is and since then I've changed my ways with my phone and I don't go on it as much. I turn it off at night. I actually make it charge in the bathroom so it's in a completely different room, because if it's still on your night table your brain still knows it's there and it's still distracting you. I literally force myself to only check it a couple times a day."
Has it been a tough transition? Is Bouchard tempted to go back to her old ways?
"Well, I was very zen," she said with a smile. "I actually really enjoyed not being able to be reached. It was quite refreshing."
In general, Bouchard seems a lot more at ease these days. She's no longer at the mercy of her phone or dealing with the intense pressure that came with heightened expectations last season. Bouchard currently sits 46th in the WTA rankings and is an under-dog in her first round French Open match against the 39th-ranked Laura Siegemund.
"I feel good," Bouchard said with a smile. "I feel no pressure. I don't feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I feel like no one really expects me to do anything. I don't expect specific results. I expect myself to perform and do the best I can, but besides that, it's kind of like, 'Let's go and see what I can do.'"
Last year around this time, Bouchard was struggling badly. She lost 15 of 18 matches from March to the start of the U.S. Open. Along the way she fired coach Sam Sumyk, who had replaced long-time mentor Nick Saviano earlier in the year.
"I still feel like I'm kind of on my way back up, on the journey to be playing the great level I know I can play so I still kind of have no expectations," Bouchard said when asked about her goals for the season's second major.
Bouchard tried to put on a brave face last year as all the positivity from a breakthrough 2014 season was washed away. She only recently began to open up about the strain the losing put on her. In a recent interview with WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen, Bouchard admitted that the stress of her situation killed her appetite and led to weight loss and a drop in her fitness level.
"Especially before matches, I was so nervous I could barely eat and now I've kind of learned to just force it down no matter what," Bouchard told TSN. "I'm definitely focused on doing more fitness and kind of trying to eat more, just consume calories. It's important for me, because I do burn a lot of calories in the day so sometimes it's hard to eat so much, which can sound funny, but that's how it is for me."
In another change, Bouchard has once again enlisted the services of Saviano, who has worked with her since she was 12.
"We just continued on like we never stopped," said Bouchard, who started collaborating with Saviano again at the event in Charleston last month. "We started back right where we were. It's definitely nice having him here. I'm so happy he's able to help me again and I feel like, you know, I have this comfort level with him, I have confidence in him, because he knows me so well on so many levels."
Considering Bouchard rose to No. 5 in the world under Saviano's guidance, does she regret splitting with him after the 2014 season?
"I learned a lot from the different decisions I made," Bouchard said. "I think it was something that had to happen. If I had never done it then maybe I would constantly look around and question maybe something else would be better so it's good to have experience working with different people and it makes you realize what you want more and you know what helps you more."
It's easy at times to forget just how young Bouchard still is and that being young is about making mistakes. But it's also about learning from them.
Bouchard will be making another big decision shortly. She ended her partnership with William Morris-IMG after just one year, which, at the moment, leaves her without representation.
"I'm in the middle of changing and it's a decision I'm going to make very soon," she said. "It hasn't been that difficult, because contrary to popular belief I do not do that much off-court stuff. I think I've done one photoshoot this entire year so my priorities are in line and I spend my whole day thinking about tennis."
Right now, she's thinking about the French Open although a long run in Paris seems unlikely. Bouchard's draw is tough. Even if she survives Siegemund, who is playing the best tennis of her career, she could face No. 8 seed Timea Bacsinszky in the second round. Bacsinszky made the semifinals here last year.
But Bouchard, who made the French Open semis in 2014, is feeling positive thanks to a big win over Australian Open champion and (at the time) World No. 2 Angelique Kerber at her final tune-up event in Rome. By ranking, it was the biggest win of Bouchard's career.
"It definitely gives me a lot of confidence to be able to beat such a great player and also to have to battle through and win in three tough sets (6-1, 5-7, 7-5). It also gives me the confidence that I have the physical capabilities to outlast my opponents."
And even if she does lose early, Bouchard has a new mindset. She's taking the long view having learned the hard way just how much of a roller-coaster professional tennis can be. She now values the process just as much as the results.
"I feel like I'm playing solid," Bouchard said. "I feel like I've improved a lot. Every day I've just been trying to improve little parts of my game and this year has been really just about being grateful to be on tour, overcoming injury (a concussion sustained at the U.S. Open) and so I'm more just happy than anything else."
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