Eugenie Bouchard says she is looking for an experienced coach to work with her in pursuit of her first Grand Slam title.
In the interim, the 20-year-old Canadian is being coached by Diego Ayala, someone she worked with in juniors. Bouchard and former coach Nick Saviano stopped working together in the off-season, despite a successful year that saw her reach two Grand Slam semifinals and a final.
Bouchard says she initiated the move. "I guess I can see how people might see it as a surprise, but sometimes when someone helps you, you feel like you might have got everything you can out of them. You just want to look for a new voice. I’d been with Nick since I was 12 and I just felt it was time for a change," she toldThe Independent.
Having risen to No. 8 and won her first tour title at Nuremburg, Bouchard is looking to ascend even higher in the rankings. "For me everyone talks about my great year," she said. "The way I look at it I lost every week except for one.
"I’m so not satisfied and I hate losing so much that while I know I had a good year and I’m proud of what I did, I know I can do better.
"I know that moving on to the next level will be really tough. I want someone who is maybe experienced in that area and can help me achieve my ultimate goal of winning a Grand Slam."
Bouchard would be willing to become one of the growing amount of players working with a former legend as a coach, she said. "I definitely want someone who has been there, winning Grand Slams, whether on the court or beside it, or getting to No 1. It’s so hard to get to that level that it would be good to get someone with that experience. Not many people have it."
Bouchard broke through on the WTA tour by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open a year ago.