Eugenie Bouchard's stance on tennis future after taking up new job and missing Wimbledon

Eugenie Bouchard has addressed her tennis future after missing out on Wimbledon this year. A former finalist at SW19, Bouchard has tumbled down the rankings since becoming a breakout star in 2014.

The Canadian, 30, was ranked number five in the world a decade ago after reaching the semi-finals of both the Australian and French Open, as well as finishing runner-up to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon. However, a run of defeats and consistent injury problems have seen her fail to reach those heights again.

Bouchard, who currently sits 524th in the world, suffered a shoulder injury in 2021 that kept her sidelined for 17 months and has since turned her attention to the fast-growing sport of Pickleball. In September, it was announced that she had joined the Professional Pickleball Association Tour and has been asked whether her tennis aspirations have shifted.

“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 told YouTuber Valeria Lipovetsky. “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.”

Pickleball is similar to tennis but is played on a smaller-sized court, using paddles and a plastic ball that does not bounce as high as a standard tennis ball, making it less demanding on the body. Bouchard played in her first pickleball event at the start of the year and celebrated her first win in April.

The tennis superstar has continued to juggle her career with her new-found love for pickleball, most recently playing in May. During rehab for her shoulder injury, Bouchard also made her broadcasting debut for the Tennis Channel and was part of the commentary team at the recent Queen’s Club Championships, as well as other events across Europe..

“[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.”