Eugenie Bouchard doubtful for Wimbledon 2015 after pulling out of Aegon International

Eugenie Bouchard had to retire during her match with Belinda Bencic
Bouchard was one of the hottest prospects at Wimbledon last year
The 21-year-old fears not playing at SW19 this year after her injury

Published:
12:00 GMT, 24 June 2015

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Updated:
19:48 GMT, 24 June 2015

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The princess of last year’s Wimbledon Eugenie Bouchard is a doubt for the tournament after pulling out of the Aegon International injured on Wednesday — but insists she is determined to drag herself to the first match.

The 21-year-old, who reached the final last year where she was beaten by Petra Kvitova, withdrew from her third-round match at Eastbourne against Belinda Bencic a set and 3-0 down.

Bouchard was struggling with an abdominal problem — something she admitted to suffering in the past — and she was unable to confirm if she would be fully fit for Wimbledon next week.

Eugenie Bouchard pictured before retiring in her match against Belinda Bencic at the Aegon International

Bouchard receives help from the physio before ending her match with Bencic prematurely on Wednesday

Bouchard (right) shakes hands with Bencic after her injury which has left her Wimbledon appearance in doubt

‘I’m going to play no matter what, even if I’m on one leg,’ she joked. ‘I will take a few days off from serving and give it a little break and see how it goes.

‘I will go see the doctors and physios again. Just rest a little bit today, tomorrow at least, and see how it feels on the weekend. Save myself for matches maybe.

‘They know I intend to play at Wimbledon, so it’s just about managing it to the best of my abilities because it is a Grand Slam.’ The injury was causing her particular difficulty when serving. ’At the end it was hard for me to put a serve in just because I felt that pain a little bit,’ she added. ‘I thought it would be better to stop.

‘The serve is so important in tennis, it’s just something I didn’t want to take a risk with, especially since I had a small issue with it earlier this year, as well, and had to take some time off after.’

Bouchard was one of the hottest players in women’s tennis last year and the princess of Wimbledon

Bouchard was one of the hottest players in women’s tennis last year, reaching the final of Wimbledon and the semi-final of the Australian and French Open.

She was tipped by many industry experts to surpass Maria Sharapova as the richest female in the sport through endorsements and prize money.

But the past year has seen a catastrophic fall and defeat to Bencic at Eastbourne was her 10th loss in her last 12 games. She has only won eight matches of 23 in 2015.

The Canadian was forced to call her trainer on to Centre Court during the match and looked in some discomfort before they decided to pull her from the tournament.