Bouchard started the new season at the Hopman Cup, where she represented Canada with Milos Raonic, followed by a first-round exit at the Apia International Sydney to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The next week, Bouchard won her opening match at the Australian Open over wildcard Tang Haochen, followed by wins over Virginie Razzano, Lauren Davis, and Casey Dellacqua to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Bouchard defeated Ana Ivanovic and advanced to the semifinals. She was eliminated by world No. 4 Li Na in the semifinals, but guaranteed herself a spot in the world's top 20 for the first time. Two weeks later, she won both of her singles matches in the Fed Cup World Group II first round against Serbia, helping Canada reach the World Group playoffs for the first time since 2004.