Canada's Eugenie Bouchard returns to tennis with doubles victory in Vancouver

Her first match left her exhausted physically and mentally, but Eugenie Bouchard couldn't be happier.

After a 17-month layoff recovering from right shoulder surgery the native of Westmount, Que., is back playing tennis at the Odlum Brown VanOpen.

"The goal of surgery and coming back is to be able to play exactly how I want to and how I was playing before," the 28-year-old former world No. 5 said Monday.

Bouchard opened the tournament Sunday night, teaming up with fellow Canadian Kayla Cross to defeat Italy's Lucia Bronzetti and Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a doubles match.

"I was exhausted," Bouchard said with a smile. "I started feeing tight in my body, my muscles were getting sore.

"It's just that mental focus. To play in a match is different than practice. It's about getting those reps in over and over again. I'll get the endurance from that and be able to get back to playing matches totally normal, but it's one baby step."

Bouchard plays her first single match Tuesday against Arianne Hartoro of the Netherlands, a player she knows nothing about. Bouchard knows there may be bumps along the road and accepts being an underdog.

"I've never had to come back from surgery before, I've never had such a big injury. For me, it's really ground zero."

The Odlum Brown VanOpen ends Sunday. The tournament, which returns after missing two years due to COVID-19, has attracted 135 players to the Hollyburn Country Club battling for a combined purse of over US$274,360.

The men's tournament, which has a top prize of $21,600, has been an ATP Challenger Tour event for several years. For the first time this year the women's competition is a WTA 125 tournament with a $15,000 top prize.

Bouchard, who received a wildcard entry into the tournament,