Eugenie Bouchard touches down in Melbourne ahead of Australian Open return

Eugenie Bouchard is in Melbourne to take part in the upcoming Australian Open, where she hopes to begin the 2023 season on a positive note. The Canadian will be playing the tournament qualifiers, beginning on January 9.

Bouchard, who spent much of last season recovering from shoulder surgery, reached the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open 2022 while on the comeback trail.

The 28-year-old who had to withdraw ahead of her Round 2 qualifying match at the ASB Classic after a severe bout of food poisoning, had an upbeat "we back" message for her fans while announcing her touchdown in Melbourne.

Bouchard's Instagram story

It was a disappointing start to the year for the former World No. 5 who had stated on social media that she was feeling better after having slept for 12 hours.

"My attempt at dinner – Sunday night – only got through about five pieces of pasta. Slept 12 hours last night and feel so much better now," she commented on Instagram on Monday.

Back in 2014, Eugenie Bouchard created history at Melbourne Park by becoming the first Canadian to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam since Carling Bassett-Seguso, who achieved the feat at the US Open 1984.

Meanwhile, fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime trained with men's defending champion Rafael Nadal, who touched down in Melbourne on Thursday.

The ATP World No. 2, who suffered two back-to-back losses against Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur at the United Cup, will be hoping for a turnaround when he begins his Australian Open campaign.

Eugenie Bouchard looking to get back to winning ways after continued struggles

Bouchard at the Wimbledon 2014 final

Eugenie Bouchard, who dropped out of the WTA rankings, ended the year as World No. 327. The Montreal-born player played some of her best tennis of the 2022 season in Chennai after failing to qualify for the US Open.

After announcing that she intended to return to action at Wimbledon, Bouchard changed her mind after the tournament was stripped of ranking points.

She beat Joanne Zuger to enter the second round of the Chennai Open, where she got past Karman Kaur Thandi, but was unable to extend her winning run after losing to Nadia Podoroska of Argentina, who beat her 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Eugenie Bouchard was at her sublime best in 2014 when she reached the Wimbledon finals after making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open earlier that year.

Bouchard failed to get the measure of an in-form Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final, going down 6-3, 6-0 before a concussion at the US Open 2015 hampered her career significantly.

Despite being unable to recreate the magic of 2014, she remains one of the most popular women players on the tour, in terms of social media following.