Eugenie Bouchard said she is ready to return the courts, having played just one event since the Australian Open. the Canadian did not play Fed Cup, fell in the first round of Antwerp and withdrew from Dubai and Monterrey with an arm injury. She describes herself as physically "fine right now" but lacking match play.
"It's about getting time on the court, getting practice, getting matches," she told press at Indian Wells. "I'm really excited to be at a tournament, have a match coming up."
The 21-year-old also has a new coach, Sam Sumyk, who was previously coaching Victoria Azarenka.
"It's been a great change for me," said Bouchard, who stopped working with Nick Saviano in the offseason. "I went—I wouldn't say coachless—I had a team for the Australian Open, but I wasn't sure if that would be a permanent solution. And to start working with Sam [following the Grand Slam], I think that was a good choice.
"He has a great resume, and he's been with players where I want to go, things I want to acheive. He's won Grand Slams, his players have been No. 1. To have that kind of knowledge and experience is something I was looking for. I happy to have that right now and we see how it goes. It's just been a few weeks."
The two are planning to keep her playing offensively. Bouchard said, "We want to adjust a few little things, but keep building on that [offensive] game."
She also wants to reduce her schedule, with her breakthrough season last year leaving her tired. Bouchard reached a the finals at Wimbledon and two Grand Slam semifinals while breaking into the Top 10. "I did learn a lot. I played a lot of matches, and what I noticed, also, high-pressure matches," she said. "I learned how tough it is on the tour and when you go deeper at tournaments.
"This year, I'm choosing my schedule a bit more. A few less tournaments, let's see. When you do expect to go deeper into tournaments, you can't play as many tournaments."
Indian Wells will be just her third tour event of the season.