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topicnews · September 27, 2024

Eugenie Bouchard reveals the reason for her return to tennis after a short stint with pickleball

Eugenie Bouchard reveals the reason for her return to tennis after a short stint with pickleball

Canadian Eugenie Bouchard has explained why she is making a U-turn and wants to play tennis again. Last year, the 30-year-old became the highest-profile active tennis player to publicly announce that she would play more pickleball in the future after failing to qualify for the US Open.

However, Bouchard recently announced that she would now like to participate more in WTA tournaments again. The former world number five was recently quoted in a report explaining the reason for her U-turn. She believes that her focus earlier this year on pickleball, the sport’s newest format, was because she was trying to adapt, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to quit professional tennis entirely.

“At the beginning of the year I focused more on pickleball because it was new and I wanted to improve because I wasn’t good,” she said. “But I just didn’t want to give up tennis completely, so I played a few tournaments this year. It’s difficult, of course – when I’m not playing full-time on the tour, it’s hard to have goals and expectations. I just enjoy it to play and I want to keep that option. I just love it so much.

Bouchard also remained connected to tennis off the court, appearing as an expert on the Tennis Channel. The Montreal-born star was once considered one of the most promising players in women’s tennis. In 2014, she enjoyed an incredible 12 months in which she reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament and reached the semifinals of two other major tournaments. However, not much has happened for her since then, as she has only managed to reach the quarterfinals or beyond of a Grand Slam tournament once in 26 years. Last year she failed to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, despite reaching the qualifying round of three major events.

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