What Serena Williams' Rout over Eugenie Bouchard Says About the 2015 Season

Serena Williams' rout over Eugenie Bouchard in the WTA Championships serves as a forecast for 2015.

Williams defeated Bouchard, 6-1, 6-1. The loss sent the Canadian home with an 0-3 record in her first appearance at the year-end championships. Bouchard won just 11 games in three matches. Unfortunately, for Bouchard, more woeful results may be on the way. 

Williams' fate in the tournament will be determined in the match between Simona Halep and Ana Ivanovic. If Ivanovic wins in straight sets, Williams goes home too. Although Williams' tournament hopes and No. 1 ranking remain in jeopardy, conditions for the up-coming season look sunny.

After a disappointing, up-and-down 2014, Williams is poised to rebound.

During a post-match interview at the Rogers Cup, Serena told reporters her 2014 season had been so disappointing that she was looking forward to next year. 

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"I almost feel like the pressure is lifted because I haven't performed the way I've wanted to personally.  Maybe for other people, but for me it's not the way I've wanted to perform...I look forward to next year because I don't have any points to defend at any of the slams."

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Meanwhile, Bouchard stormed through 2014 with impressive runs at Slams. She reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the French Open. She reached the finals at Wimbledon. Dubbed Princess Eugenie, Bouchard also enjoyed media coverage fit for a queen.

Then came the beatdown. Petra Kvitova destroyed Bouchard, 6-3, 6-0 in 55 minutes. 

After Wimbledon, Bouchard slid into a summer slump. In what was supposed to be a homecoming, Bouchard was upset in her first match at the Rogers Cup by Shelby Rogers.

She stumbled through the summer and appeared deflated and defeated. She spent most of the second half of the season living off the success of the first half. 

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Unfortunately for Bouchard, the success in 2014 adds pressure in 2015. She will realize what many young and talented players discover: Having a break through year is tough. Backing it up is even tougher. 

Of course Bouchard will have more experience. But it's precisely that experience that could work against her. Going into this season, she was still largely a newbie. Many of the top players had never played her or faced her once or twice. With a body of work so thin, veteran players had little to study.

Now that her portfolio is thicker, players have more to review. It appears the top players have indeed been studying. They have figured her out. Her serve, even the first one, is attackable. She has solid groundstrokes, but when rattled she becomes an unforced-error machine. Her game is too predictable. 

Next year, Bouchard might feel what Serena Williams experienced this year: The crushing weight of high expectations.  

Williams can relax. She will enter 2015 without the burden of a  record-setting season on her back. Last year, she went 78-4, won 11 titles and two Grand Slams.

This year her play has been inconsistent. One day she's a world beater. The next, she's beat down. Her season might already be over.

After the win over Bouchard, Williams told Tennis.com that ''If I wanted to win and be a part of the event, I should have won my match yesterday or should have done better...If I don't qualify, I'll be sad, but it wasn't my year. I'm not going to fall out and die.''

Only an all-time great would call six titles, a Grand Slam win and being ranked No. 1 all season long, "not my year." 

Well, there's always next year for a more Serena-esque season.