Yahoo Sports 
Eugenie Bouchard looking for simplicity, stability as she seeks a return to prominence
PARIS – An enforced return to simpler, gentler times has given Genie Bouchard a whole new perspective on that accessory indispensable for most 22-year-olds: the smart phone.
After losing it in Madrid, Bouchard spent more than a week in the social-media abyss: little Tweeting, no Snapchatting, no Instagramming and – unthinkable for someone of her generation – social outings meticulously planned in advance rather than put together on the text-and-fly.
“It was very different than what I’m used to. I was without the phone for, I think, about 10 days – it felt a lot longer than that. But it was a good experience because I realize how attached we are to our phones,” Bouchard said Friday, laughing at the unexpected life lesson.
“It was good for me. It was really refreshing to not be texting all the time, being on the phone all the time. It was a good thing,” she added. “Going hours without communicating with anyone was weird, but I realized I need more of that. So now, I shut my phone off more often, and try not to go on it every five seconds like everyone else my age.”
If nothing else, the phone adventure is emblematic of what 2016 has come to be about for Bouchard. She has had a few bumps along the road back to the top of women’s tennis but overall has put in a best effort to stay focused, not overthink things that are out of her control, and try to get back to where her mind and game were at when it was all so (relatively) simple and uncomplicated.
In many of her interviews, she has said that this season reminds of her first season at the WTA level in 2013, when she was just going on the court and competing with little to lose and armed with the insouciance of inexperience, not stressing out about the outcome and consequences of her results.
The Bouchard in evidence so far in Paris seems lighter, somehow. She was bubbly and smiling during some media obligations Friday, chatting easily, not guardedly, about various topics.
Most players in a Grand Slam tournament are like that, though, in the days before the event actually starts. We’ll see if it carries through as the French Open begins.
In a recent interview on the WTA Tour’s website, the 22-year-old finally addressed the undeniable issue of her weight loss through much of 2015 – especially between the Australian Open and Indian Wells. It was something that was even more noticeable in person than on television, and escaped no one’s notice even if she wouldn’t address it at the time.
The conclusion most of Bouchard’s detractors came to was that she was prioritizing off-court interests over tennis, trying to get as thin as possible for current and future modelling gigs rather than staying strong and healthy to have success on the court.
Those opinions weren’t backed up by anything concrete; the truth was that through her year-long association with the IMG agency, which also included a deal with the agency’s modelling arm, she did not go on a single official modelling assignment.
And, as she pointed out to TSN in an interview with the Canadian sports network Friday, she has only done one photo shoot (for Nike) so far this year.
The reality was a completely different one, one that anyone who knows young women in their teens and early 20s could easily identify – especially the high-achieving, type-A personality types like Bouchard.
The stress level was so high, it killed her appetite. With some young women, it has the opposite effect.
Bouchard worked hard to maintain a matter-of-fact attitude on the outside, a public posture that she expected all that was coming her way to happen, that it was just her job, no big deal. The reality was more realistic.
And given that Bouchard burns a lot of calories just doing her job, the weight dropped off.
She looks a lot healthier these days, and she continues to work on it. She said that even when there are times she doesn’t feel like eating, she still does because she knows she has to.
The renewed association with Saviano doesn’t feel as though it has any sort of permanence to it yet, although perhaps that’s the goal.
After parting on fairly bad terms at the end of the 2014 season, there is still some trust to be rebuilt. But the influence of coach Cyril Saulnier appears to be a calm and steady one.
At this point, Bouchard still needs more stability around her after several years of musical chairs on Team Bouchard. Thomas Hogstedt, who is here in Paris working with American Madison Keys, was her coach for just six months before she kicked him to the curb. Sam Sumyk lasted about six months in 2015.
Physical trainer Steve Kotze, who had been with her through the first few months of the season, is also gone.
“Of course, I want consistency. But when something’s not working, you have to change it for the better or improve it. For me, it’s important not to continue with something if I think I can do better elsewhere. So yes, I want to add a trainer to my team. But for now, I feel good. I’m concentrating on the tournament and not doing a lot of fitness during the tournament but maybe after Europe, I’ll see,” she said.
“I’ve been on Tour for a few years now. I think I have a little experience and I know myself better. I know what works for me and what doesn’t,” Bouchard added. “So it’s important to try to find the people that work for you, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
