Eugenie Bouchard confirms she will represent Canada at Rio Olympics
Ranked No. 41 in the world, Canadian tennis star heading to 1st Games
Eugenie Bouchard has confirmed that she will represent Canada at the Rio Olympics, putting to rest any doubts about the participation of the country's top-ranked women's tennis player.
The Westmount, Que., native announced she is heading to Rio when talking to reporters in advance of the Rogers Cup.
Bouchard was named to the Olympic team by Tennis Canada, but said she would wait until "the last minute" to decide whether she would accept the spot after expressing concerns about the Zika virus and safety in Rio.
Bouchard has seen fellow Canadian Milos Raonic and other high-profile tennis players as well as golfers pull out of Rio and has admitted that their decisions have weighed on her.
"I'm truly undecided, and you see more and more people pulling out as kind of the deadline gets closer," Bouchard said Tuesday after being eliminated in the first round of the Citi open in Washington, D.C.
"It's just unfortunate because it would be my first Games, and to have a problem like this kind of dampening the excitement of potentially your first Olympic Games, it really sucks, to be honest." she said.
Canada will be missing its top men's player in Rio after Raonic announced he was skipping the event due to health concerns.
Bouchard will join Gabriela Dabrowski, Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor at the Games.