Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has spoken about her future in the sport after missing Wimbledon and exploring new jobs away from the court
Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has opened up about her future in the sport after missing out on a place at Wimbledon this year.
The Canadian star, who was once ranked fifth in the world, has seen her career take a tumble since her breakout year in 2014. Bouchard was a force to be reckoned with a decade ago, reaching the semi-finals of both the Australian and French Open, and finishing as runner-up at SW19. However, a string of losses and persistent injuries have prevented her from returning to those heights.
Currently ranked 524th in the world, Bouchard’s career took another hit in 2021 when she suffered a shoulder injury that kept her off the court for 17 months. Since then, the 30-year-old has turned her focus to the rapidly growing sport of Pickleball.
In September, it was revealed that Bouchard had joined the Professional Pickleball Association Tour, leading to questions about her tennis future. In an interview with YouTuber Valeria Lipovetsky, Bouchard was asked whether her tennis aspirations have changed since taking up a new sport.
“That’s a very good question. I would say that changed this year because I have to invest some of my time playing the pickleball events as well,” Bouchard admitted. “So training in the gym for both, I would say, is similar but obviously on the court it’s different.
“So if I’m starting to give some time to pickle, it’s taking time away from tennis. I would say this is an exploratory year to see how I love either one, how I love both, how I’m able to manage doing both.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s more of an experimental year and we’ll see how it goes,” she added. “This is brand-new for me so I don’t know for sure yet is my answer. I totally shifted this year and it’s only been three months, four months. I have no idea yet, I’m testing it out, we’ll see.”
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Similar to tennis, pickleball is played on a smaller court with paddles and a less bouncy plastic ball, making it less strenuous for players. Bouchard took her first swing at pickleball in January, winning her first match in April.
Bouchard has been balancing her tennis career with her newfound passion for pickleball, recently competing in May. Away from the court, Bouchard has also worked as a broadcaster for Tennis Channel, joining the commentators at the Queen’s Club Championships last month and other European tournaments.
“[The injury] made me do more off-court stuff,” Bouchard said. “I went to do some commentating for the Tennis Channel, found out I really loved that, and was told I was good at it so that’s something I would love to continue exploring. That’s something I can do after tennis.”
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