Genie Bouchard handed French Open main draw wildcard

Genie Bouchard will take part in this year’s French Open after it was confirmed she has been handed a wildcard to the women’s singles main draw at Roland-Garros.

The 26-year-old enters the tournament fresh from an appearance in the final of the Istanbul Open this past weekend, which ended with a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) loss to Patricia Maria Tig.

In Paris, the Montrealer will be hoping to build on her strong start since tennis returned from its enforced hiatus having also made a run to the quarter-finals at the Prague Open last month.

Bouchard’s best showing at Roland-Garros came in 2014 when she reached the semi-finals only to be beaten by eventual champion Maria Sharapova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Last year, the Canadian’s stint on the Parisian clay was over in the first round thanks to a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

The French Open was originally due to take place from May 24 to June 7 but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now scheduled to run from September 21 to October 11, the event is celebrating its 124th year and its 90th anniversary as a Grand Slam.