TORONTO, December 3, 2016

Tennis Canada announced Friday that Eugenie Bouchard is the 2016 Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year, an honour she is receiving for the fourth consecutive season. Two other athletes are being presented with Excellence Awards as well, as Gabriela Dabrowski is now a four-time doubles player of the year, with rising star Bianca Andreescu the most improved player recipient.

“A huge congratulations to Eugenie, Gabriela, and Bianca on your successes this season,” said Kelly Murumets, president and CEO, Tennis Canada. “Eugenie continues to lead the way for Canadian tennis on the WTA circuit, and Gabriela is fast becoming one of the best doubles players on tour. They both made us immensely proud representing our amazing country so well at the Olympic Games this summer. And with Bianca’s great progress and impressive play this year, we can see her one day playing for Canada on such a big stage as well. Best of luck to all of our winners in 2017; we look forward to following along!”

Currently ranked world No. 46, Bouchard is also the female singles player of the year. She reached the fifth and sixth WTA finals of her career this season, finishing runner-up at Hobart and Kuala Lumpur. In Rome in May, she earned her most impressive win of 2016 by defeating future world No. 1 (then ranked No. 2) Angelique Kerber in three sets. On home soil, she made the third round of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, thrilling her hometown crowd in Montreal with two big wins. First, the 2014 Wimbledon finalist ousted Lucie Safarova before dishing a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over then-world No. 10 Dominika Cibulkova. The 22-year-old also competed in her first Olympic Games in Rio, where she made the second round in both singles and doubles.

Dabrowski continued her rise as one of the world’s top doubles players, hitting a new career-high ranking of No. 37 in October. Halfway through the season, she clinched her third career WTA title, winning Mallorca with partner Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. She was also a finalist at Nottingham, and semifinalist at five other WTA tournaments including the Premier-level Beijing. Additionally, she made her Olympic debut in Rio, making the second round in doubles with Bouchard.

At the age of only 16, most improved player of the year Andreescu has already climbed from a 2015 year-end No. 633 on the pro rankings to No. 297. She captured her first career professional titles at the $25,000 Gatineau National Bank Challenger in August, sweeping both the singles and doubles crowns, alongside fellow junior Canadian Charlotte Robillard-Millette. She also reached the $50,000 Saguenay National Bank Challenger final in October. On the junior circuit, she hit world No. 3 earlier in the year and posted her best result in September, making the Junior US Open semifinals.

The Tennis Canada Excellence Awards are selected by a committee comprised of high-ranked Tennis Canada personnel and the country’s top national coaches. Milos Raonic was previously announced as the male player of the year. The 2016 junior recipients will be announced on Monday.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR