LONDON – The short dress that Genie Bouchard and other Nike-sponsored players are wearing at Wimbledon has created quite a buzz. But the 22-year-old Canadian can only laugh when asked about it.

"I tried on the dress months ago so, for me, I love it," she said. "It's nice and short so you can move around and be free with your movements. Yeah, I don't know. It's funny that people paid a lot of attention to it, but I really think it's really nice."

Bouchard has found herself in the middle of some controversial issues of late. The truth, however, is her life both on and off the court is finally getting back to normal. 

During the French Open, Bouchard opened up about her struggles last year. She revealed that she was so nervous at times, overwhelmed by the pressure that came with heightened expectations, that she struggled to eat. She lost weight and muscle mass as a result, becoming more injury prone and less effective on court. 

Headlines blared that Bouchard had dealt with an eating disorder although Bouchard never used those words. 

"It's disappointing to see that people spun it that way just to kind of make a headline, but I do want to clarify, for the record, I never had an eating disorder and I currently do not have one," Bouchard said. "It's a very serious condition and I'm not making light of it in any way."

This has been a tumultuous time in Bouchard's career. After a breakthrough season in 2014, Bouchard split with long-time coach Nick Saviano and ended her relationship with long-time agency Lagardère, a smaller firm. She ended up with a new coach in Sam Sumyk, Victoria Azarenka's former mentor, and a new agency, giant firm William Morris-IMG. 

The relationship with Sumyk lasted only months while the partnership with IMG ended after a little more than a year. Bouchard reunited with Saviano before the French Open and recently decided to sign on with a Las Vegas-based boutique agency, PRP, which represents former basketball star Shaquille O'Neal among others.  

"That's exactly the decision I made, you know, to go to a smaller, boutique agency where I can be priority No. 1 and be really looked after and just go to sleep at night knowing someone's out there trying to do the best for me, working as hard as they can and fighting for me," said Bouchard, who shared an agent with Serena Williams last season. 

Slowly but surely, Bouchard’s life is returning to 2014 form. The eating issues have been resolved with the help of a sports psychologist. Saviano is once again her coach and Bouchard is once again being represented by a small agency. Now, what about her tennis? Well, she arrived at the All England Club ranked No. 48, but with a respectable 22-14 record on the season. 

At the grand slams, however, Bouchard has lost in the second round at both the Australian Open (to Aga Radwanska) and the French Open (to Timea Bacsinszky). 

Perhaps Wimbledon is where she'll get her big-tournament mojo back. In 2014, after all, she made it to the semi-finals in Melbourne and Paris before reaching the final in London. Indeed, Wimbledon holds a special place in Bouchard's heart as she also won a junior singles title here in 2012. 

"I always gain confidence coming here, no matter what, even if I'm playing terrible just because I love the grass and I love Wimbledon," Bouchard said with a big smile. "I always have such fond memories coming back to Wimbledon. I really get chills down my back when I'm playing on these courts. I just finished a practice session on one of the match courts and, you know, there's nothing like it."

Bouchard started her 2016 campaign strong, jumping out to a 6-3, 2-1 lead in her first round match against Magdalena Rybarikova on Tuesday before rain postponed play. 

During her run to the third round in Eastbourne, the final Wimbledon tune-up event, Saviano said Bouchard played some of the best tennis he had seen from her in some time. And she showed flashes of brilliance against World No. 3 Radwanska before eventually bowing out 3-6, 3-6. 

"It is a process and I think my results since the French Open have shown that," Bouchard said. "I've had some good ones, I've had some bad ones [a first-round loss to the 171st-ranked Elise Mertens at 's-Hertogenbosch], but I feel like, in general, I'm heading in the right direction."  

So, there are positive signs for Bouchard. But one of the tough lessons she learned during last year’s fall from grace is that things won't always come easy. The rise back up the mountain is never as quick as the tumble down.  

"It's always tough getting what you want like that," Bouchard said with a snap of her fingers. "We are a generation of instant gratification so I want it right now, but I do know to become great, to get to the top, it’s a long journey. It requires a lot of hard work; it doesn't just happen like that. 

"That being said, I came into this year with no expectations so, you know, I have done better than I expected and I do know it's a long journey back to where I want to be."