Montreal’s rising tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, 19, has decided to part ways with her coach Nathalie Tauziat, she announced Friday.
Bouchard, who enjoyed a breakthrough season that saw her rise to 32 in the world rankings, said that she's going to spend more time with Nick Saviano, who has helped her off-and-on since 2006.
“I found myself spending more time in Florida this year and it will continue to be my training grounds next year so I’m going to train with Saviano most of the time. He’ll travel with me more, especially to the majors,” said Bouchard.
Tauziat, a Frenchwoman who won eight career titles and reached the finals at Wimbledon in 1998, was also a mentor to the recently-retired Marion Bartoli.
“She helped me a lot,” said Bouchard. “But since I’ve been spending more time in Florida, Nick is my main coach.”
Bouchard, who earned $415,742 in earnings this year, noted that she learned that the top players have a strong mental approach.
She wants to become more aggressive with her shots next season and also toughen up mentally.
“The psychological aspect makes all the difference at this level, so it is important to excel."
Bouchard said that her favourite moment of her year was beating Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-3 in front of a big crowd - which included the parents of Kate Middleton - on centre court at Wimbledon.
