Eugenie Bouchard’s brief professional tennis career can perhaps be best compared to a roller-coaster ride.

In 2013, the then 19 year old took the tennis world by storm, becoming the first Canadian to be named WTA Newcomer of the Year since Carling Bassett-Seguso won the award in 1983.

In 2014, she climbed the rankings, finding a spot inside the top five in the world while proving a force to be reckoned with. Bouchard won her first WTA title at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup, made the semi-finals at the Australian and French Opens, and became the first Canadian to make a Grand Slam singles final, losing to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon.

Her play inspired a boisterous group of fans, dubbed Genie’s Army, to start following her from tournament to tournament. She was named the WTA’s Most Improved Player for the 2014 season, and former world No. 1 and current ESPN tennis commentator Chris Evert declared herself a fan. Embedded Image

It all came spiralling down in 2015. Bouchard’s ranking plummeted during a season plagued by injuries, early-round exits, coaching changes and an apparent loss in confidence. She appeared to be finding her form at the U.S. Open, but suffered a concussion in a locker-room fall ahead of her fourth-round match that knocked her out of the tournament. Bouchard played just once more in the calendar year, but was forced to withdraw from that match at the China Open due to dizziness.   

The 2016 season hasn’t produced any stellar results yet, but there are signs that Bouchard may be getting her groove back. Now ranked 46th in the world, Bouchard recently beat world No. 2 Angelique Kerber at the Italian Open.

With the French Open set to begin Sunday, Bouchard will be looking to take the next step on the comeback trail. According to Evert, Bouchard has the talent to make an impact on the sport’s biggest stages.

Evert: Eugenie has championship qualities

Tennis great Chris Evert has always been a fan of Eugenie Bouchard, now she talks about what the Canadian needs to do to get back on top.

“I think she has the game to make it deep into the Grand Slams,” Evert said in a recent interview with TSN.ca. “Once a champion, always a champion, and I think she has champion qualities as far as the mental aspect of the game. A couple of years ago I saw the grit and the determination and the confidence that she had. There is no reason she can’t get that back.”

Evert believes the first step for Bouchard in the long trek back to the top echelon will be finding a way to regain her confidence.

“When you have never achieved anything you come out and you are fearless because you have nothing to lose,” Evert said. “She is now in a different stage of her career. She has gone through adversity and losses and some emotional challenges. She has to be more thoughtful and plan out what her strategy is. I think entering a lot of tournaments is a good ploy because she needs to win matches to get that confidence back. You don’t just snap your fingers.”

Evert said the biggest part of the mental battle for Bouchard is shutting out the off-court distractions and letting go of the failures of last season.

“She really needs to get back into a relaxed state and try to block out everything in the past that has happened to her,” Evert said. “She needs to be in the moment and remember why she is in this game to start with. She needs to be eager and humble to win and to compete.”

Evert also believes some constancy in Bouchard’s game will help, and she isn’t just talking about on the court. Bouchard has had five different coaches since 2013, recently returning to work with former coach Nick Saviano. Evert thinks the reunion will help her game.

Embedded Image“I am happy to see her tentatively back with Nick Saviano,” Evert said. “I think it was a very smart move. I think he is very good for her. He knows her game. He knows her mentally and emotionally, and perhaps he is the one that can bring her back.”

While Evert is happy to see the moves Bouchard has made away from the court, she sees plenty of work that has to be done on the court to get the Canadian back to a top ranking.

“I really see a lot of unforced errors. I would attribute that to her movement,” Evert said. “She was quicker before. She was moving her feet better; she was getting into position before she made her shot. Lately I saw a lot of off-balance shots that showed me it was all about footwork. I think she just needs to tidy up a few things. Get her big first serve back to set up the point, get her movement going and get her confidence back. There is no reason she can’t still get deep in these big tournaments.”

Will we see the competitive, feisty and fearless Bouchard of the past at this year’s French Open? We'll find out as she faces Germany's Laura Siegemund in her first-round match.  All the action gets underway Monday at 5am across the TSN Network and streaming on TSN GO.