Eugenie Bouchard has hired Jimmy Connors as her new coach. Bouchard was seen working with Connors at the Forest Hills Tennis Club in Queens. The Canadian has had a truly down year compared to last year. She is 9-16 on the year with notable losses coming in the first round at the French Open (to Kristina Mladenovic), Wimbledon (to Ying-Ying Duan), and at the Rogers Cup (to Belinda Bencic).
Her last coach was Sam Sumyk, and the pair split up about three weeks ago. The duo went 4-13 together and split up before the Canadian went back to her native country to play at the Rogers Cup. After the split, Bouchard had Marko Dragic as her hitting partner and coach for the time being, before hiring Connors.
A little on Jimmy Connors
Connors hails from the United States and was an eight-time Grand Slam champion. He won the US Open five times, Wimbledon twice, and the Australian Open once. He fell just short of a career Grand Slam only making it to the semifinals at the French Open. He was ranked world number one for 268 weeks and held a then-record of 160 consecutive weeks atop the rankings.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion was known for his fierce competitiveness, fiery temper, and bitter relationship with his fellow compatriots. Much like her new coach, Bouchard is also a fierce competitor and is not out to make friends on tour.
Connors has had two coaching stints in his career. His first stint was with American tennis great Andy Roddick. The pair worked 19 months together before splitting in early 2008. He also coached current world number three Maria Sharapova in 2013. Their time together was brief, less than a month, and only lasted a match together. They went their separate ways after the Russian was knocked out of the Western & Southern Open in her opening match by Sloane Stephens.