There's a Changing of the Guard in Canadian Tennis

Bianca Andreescu's impressive win in Indian Wells on Sunday marked the beginning of a new era in Canadian women's tennis. The win ended Eugenie Bouchard's reign as Canada's top female tennis player.

This moment provides an opportunity to reflect on Bouchard's career and puts in perspective how incredible Andreescu's Indian Wells title  really is.

Flashback to 2014. Bouchard entered the Australian Open with a strong juniors resume that included two grand slam doubles titles and the Wimbledon singles title over Elina Svitolina. Her best result at a grand slam prior to Melbourne occurred at the 2013 Wimbledon Champions when she reached the third round. So when she took to the court in Australia she was relatively unknown.

That all changed when Bouchard reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. She had Canada's attention now. A generation of Canadians never saw one of their own this deep in a grand slam before. She had the opportunity to become the first Canadian to reach a grand slam semifinal since Carling Bassett at the 1984 U.S. Open.

So on a cold January evening in Canada, Bouchard walked out into Melbourne's summertime heat on Rod Laver Arena with the support of a nation behind her. Canadians and tennis fans around the world watched this young Canadian storm back from a set down against Ana Ivanovic to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 to book herself a spot in the semifinals against Li Na.

4.4 million Canadians watched Bouchard lose to Li Na in straight sets, but that was an afterthought for many. Canada was just happy to see a fellow Canadian do well in tennis. Rachel Brady and Sean Gordon wrote in The Globe and Mail back in 2014:

She captured big prize money, record TV ratings and tennis hearts around the world... the ball is now in Eugenie Bouchard's court.

Bouchard proved just two months later in Indian Wells her Australian Open run was no fluke. She reached the 4th round only to lose to Simona Halep in a tense three set match. She backed up that performance by reaching the semifinals at the Family Circle Cup. Along the way she defeated Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic.

In May she won her first and only WTA singles title over Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 at the Nuremburg Cup.

Bouchard entered the French Open as the 18th seed. She battled her way to the 4th round where she faced the tournament's 8th seed Angelique Kerber. This was another test for Bouchard which she not only passed, but absolutely dominated crushing Kerber 6-1, 6-2.

In her second straight grand slam quarterfinal she was up against Carla Suarez Navarro. This match was one of her most gutsy wins in her career. Down 2-5 in the first set Bouchard battled back to take it. After she lost the second set and was losing 1-4 in the third to a clay court specialist it appeared she was going out. Remarkably, she battled back and won the match. Her resiliency to pressure and the moment is one of the main reasons her fan base continued to grow.

She lost to Maria Sharapova in three sets in the semis, but like in Australia everyone saw the potential in her; at this point the sky was the limit after an impressive tournament in Paris.

One month later it appeared her fight and unwillingness to fold under pressure was about to payoff. Bouchard reached another grand slam semifinal at Wimbledon. This time she faced Halep. Unlike Indian Wells, the Canadian won in straight sets reaching the Wimbledon final.

At the time it was unimaginable that watching her step out onto Centre Court in the Wimbledon Final was her career peaking before everyone's eyes. Not even the match, but before she hit a ball. To this point she showed the aggression and mental fortitude that a grand slam champion needs. For some reason that consistency and mental toughness disappeared in her walkout onto Centre Court and besides a few glimpses here and there it was never seen again.

Bouchard was blown out by Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0. It was a big slice of humble pie for all of Canada and Bouchard.

The rest of 2014 was filled with injuries and inconsistency. Nevertheless, she ended the year ranked No.7 in the world with a record of 45-23.

Since then however she sports a losing record winning just 85 matches and losing 87. Who knows why it all fell apart for Bouchard, but it did. She had all the makings of a tennis legend, but it never materialized. The ball was in her court.

Bouchard's failure to succeed is what makes Andreescu's success at 18 even more incredible. In Bouchard's 21 WTA Premier Mandatory tournament entries her best result is the quarterfinals in Madrid in 2015.

Forget Bouchard for a moment, Milos Raonic is yet to win an ATP Masters 1000 tournament (equivalent to WTA Premier Mandatory). Raonic made three Masters 1000 finals and not only did he not win one, he failed to even win more than three games in a set.

What Andreescu accomplished and is accomplishing is astounding. In 2.5 months she defeated world no.6 Elina Svitolina, and grand slam champions Garbine Muguruza, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, and Venus Williams. Her current record is a tour best 30-3.

Andreescu demonstrates that same fight and aggression Bouchard had in 2014, but raised it to another level which is scary to think about for just an 18-year-old.

And to make the changing of the guard official Andreescu defeated Bouchard at the Oracle Challenger earlier this year 6-2, 6-0. The ball is now firmly in her court.