Article content

Eugenie Bouchard has fired back at those who mock her life off the tennis court, something she says she has been experiencing for years.

The former world No. 5 had her best year in 2014, when she reached the Wimbledon final, becoming the first Canadian-born player to do so.

Though she lost to Petra Kvitova, Bouchard made her mark on the court — but it was her life away from tennis that the haters attacked, negatively impacting the Montreal native’s confidence and overall game.

Article content

“Back in the day, I could train six hours during the day before later posting on social media about being at the movies and I would get hate,” she said in an interview with The Times.

“It was like, well, social media isn’t an exact representation of my day.”

The 30-year-old continued: “It’s great that the world has changed over the past 10 years and now not only is it acceptable to do off-court things, it’s actually encouraged. Back in the day, I felt like I was being shoved into a box, like, you can’t do anything besides tennis.”

But she defended her choices, saying it was her sport that gave her “opportunities to explore the fashion world, TV and all these other things. Why would I say no? We’re talking about my life in its entirety here.”

Bouchard’s social pages are a mix of sporty photos and videos, red carpet events, Hollywood parties, and plenty of bikini shots that her fans can’t get enough of.

“I would get so much hate for doing anything other than tennis,” Bouchard added. “It was a burden I would bear on my shoulders and it was really hard. At least it’s more accepted now. Not that I was the only pioneer to do these things but I feel like I made it a little bit more normal.”

Bouchard, who is currently ranked 524th in the world, has only played in one tournament this season and has since found a new passion in pickleball.

“I love being a part of something that’s growing so quickly and is so popular right now,” Bouchard said. “Also there is challenging myself. I’ve done tennis for 25 years and I find it stimulating for my brain to try something new.”

But she’s not retiring from tennis yet.

“Tennis is what I love and what I still want to keep doing,” she said. “The pickleball schedule is the priority but I do want to insert those tennis tournaments.”

Bouchard added: “I want to achieve whatever I can. I’m not doing a full-time tennis schedule, so of course I need to understand that there will be limitations. But I love tennis and it’s not something I want to give up yet at all.”

Share this article in your social network