MONTREAL – Canadian Eugenie Bouchard is working with tennis legend Jimmy Connors on a temporary basis in preparation for the U.S. Open.
Bouchard said in a statement through her agent Mary Jane Orman that she has been friends with Connors for a few years and that the two are working together this week while Connors is in New York City.
There are no long-term plans for Connors to continue coaching Bouchard, the 21-year-old said in the statement.
Connors won eight Grand Slams from 1974-1983, including five U.S. Opens.
He was the top-ranked player in the world for 160 straight weeks at one point.
Connors previously coached Andy Roddick from 2006-2008 and Maria Sharapova, though that lasted only one match.
Bouchard has been trying to rediscover her game since going to the 2014 Wimbledon final.
She recently parted ways with coach Sam Sumyk after Wimbledon and worked with Marko Dragic before the Rogers Cup.
Bouchard said there were “big problems” with Sumyk and that the arrangement wasn’t working.
The Westmount, Que., native has lost 14 of her past 17 matches, including a first-round loss in Toronto to eventual Rogers Cup champion Belinda Bencic.
Bouchard also dealt with an abdominal injury during that stretch.
She lost in the first round of the Connecticut Open on Monday, 6-0, 6-1 to Italy’s Roberta Vinci.
Bouchard will face American Alison Riske in the first round of the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 31.
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