Eugenie Bouchard withdraws from big tournaments in Wuhan and Beijing

Genie Bouchard's struggles were apparent on court at the Coupe Banque Nationale in Quebec City last week.

And after flaming out in the second round against a player ranked outside the top 150, a meltdown reminiscent of her exit two summers ago at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, she's taking a break.

Bouchard has decided to skip her planned trip to China to compete in the two Premier-level events there in the coming weeks, in Wuhan (where she reached the final in 2014) and Beijing. No doubt the official reason will be an injury (the official reason for withdrawal is shin splints, which she did get taped for in New York). But it seems wise for the Canadian to take a step back and cut through a lot of the clutter that has accumulated around her in recent months. Quite clearly it has gotten the better of her of late.

She made a positive first step last weekend, spending time with her family hiking in New Hampshire after that premature exit from the Quebec City tournament.

Bouchard also has to begin dealing with the lawsuit she has filed against the USTA in the wake of last year's concussion incident at the US Open.

As of today, she is still entered in two indoor events in Europe after that, in Linz Austria the week of Oct. 10 and in Luxembourg the week after that.