Inside Eugenie Bouchard’s fan date, new profession and tennis decline post-Wimbledon

Once tipped as the future of women’s tennis, Eugenie Bouchard’s dreams of glory never quite came to fruition.

The 30-year-old from Montreal, Quebec caused a stir when she reached the 2014 Wimbledon final as an underdog. And had her match against Petra Kvitova ended differently, her career trajectory might have been altered.

Unfortunately, the Canadian starlet succumbed to the pressure of her first Grand Slam final on the iconic SW19 courts, losing 3-6, 0-6 in a match that simply wasn’t meant to be. A decade later, Bouchard hasn’t come close to clinching a major victory, failing to reach the final of any of the big four tournaments.

READ MORE: Ex-Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard admits tennis outfits are ‘great for sex appeal’

READ MORE: Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard calls out double standards over Jack Draper statement

So, what has become of Bouchard since her moment in the south west London sun with Kvitova, and what is she doing now? Here, Daily Star Sport dives into everything you need to know about the tennis pro – from her decline in the sport to her new career path….

Fall from grace in tennis

Bouchard spent her teenage years training with Nick Saviano before making her mark in the ITF as a junior. Despite winning the junior singles title at Wimbledon in 2012 – defeating now household name Elina Svitolina – she struggled to replicate her early successes at a senior level.

In 2014, she made history as the first Canadian player to reach a Wimbledon final, marking her arrival on the global stage. However, a defeat by Kvitova was the closest she would ever come to clinching a Grand Slam final victory. Many believe Bouchard’s downfall began at the 2015 US Open when she had to pull out of her fourth-round match against Roberta Vinci due to a concussion caused by a locker room fall.

She only managed to play one more match that year as she struggled to recover from the injury, and by early 2018, she had slipped out of the top 100. Since the concussion, she has not advanced past the third round of a major tournament, and other injuries have also hindered her progress in the sport.

Bouchard missed the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2021 because of a tear in her right shoulder, which she sustained during a first-round WTA match against Caroline Dolehide. A 17-month break following surgery also ruled her out of the 2022 Australian Open and French Open. Once hailed as a rising star in tennis, Bouchard is now ranked 1,199 in singles and 517 in doubles by the WTA, and it appears she has scaled back her efforts as she explores other opportunities.

Double-standards

Earlier this year, Bouchard hit the headlines globally when she highlighted double standards in tennis. Her remarks came after Jack Draper told British Vogue he quite enjoys being in front of the camera and doing some modelling away from the courts.

The 22 year old revealed: “I quite enjoy being in front of the camera – if I’m looking good, that is.” But Bouchard wasn’t impressed with these comments and quickly hopped on X to share her thoughts. She tweeted: “If I had said this 10 years ago I would have been crucified,” adding a laughing emoji for good measure.

Genie’s fans were quick to back her up on Instagram, highlighting the unfair treatment with comments like: “The double standard is real,” and: “You still would be today!” With her 2.3million Insta followers eating up every shot, from sultry bikini snaps to action on court, Bouchard’s no stranger to a bit of online buzz.

Dating a fan

In one juicy podcast chat on Nothing Major, Bouchard spilled the beans about her date with a lucky fan after losing a Super Bowl bet. The Canadian predicted an Atlanta Falcons win, musing, “I’m literally super bored, I tweeted, ‘I knew Atlanta would win’.”

She added: “I don’t even typically read my Twitter replies, and then this dude’s like, ‘Bet: If Patriots win, we go on a date?’ I replied, ‘Sure’, thinking the Falcon’s lead was solid at 28-3 by the third’s end. But naturally, Tom Brady pulls off his comeback magic, and next thing you know, my tweet’s gone viral!”

Bouchard admitted that she had to do a bit of detective work on the social media user, who had a profile picture of Tiger Woods. She added: “We had to firstly research who this was because by the way, his profile picture was Tiger Woods and I was like, ‘This is honestly not Tiger Woods, which means it’s a super fan, which means this is dangerous’.”

After getting the green light, the pair went on a date to a Brooklyn Nets game where Bouchard confessed that the man in question – John Goehrke – turned out to be a “good-looking guy”. Unfortunately, the romance didn’t blossom further, with Bouchard finding love with Jack Brinkley-Cook before reportedly parting ways earlier this summer.

A new career?

While Bouchard continues to dominate on the tennis court, she has also developed a liking for a completely different sport – Pickleball. The game bears a striking resemblance to tennis and is played on a doubles-sized badminton court. According to Pickleball England: “Points can only be scored by the serving side.

“You win a point if the defending side does not manage to return the ball, hits the ball out, does not let the serve ball bounce, volleys in the non-volley zone, or is hit by the ball. The game ends when one of the parties gets 11 points, with a 2-point lead.”

Earlier this year, Bouchard revealed to TSN about her transition into the sport, confessing: “I felt totally out of my league at the beginning of the year and it was a shock, but now I’ve trained and I fell like I’m a little bit closer, and getting a little better.”

Besides her on-court exploits, Bouchard has also been sharing her tennis knowledge as a pundit on the Tennis Channel.

Infamous spat with Sharapova

Bouchard once had a notorious verbal spat with Maria Sharapova – taking a dig at the Russian after she tested positive for banned substances in 2016. Despite Sharapova serving a 15-month ban for testing positive for meldonium, Bouchard believed she should have been permanently expelled from the sport.

She voiced her disappointment, saying: “It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true. So, I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids – cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms. I don’t think that’s right and [she’s] definitely not someone I can say I look up to anymore because that’s definitely ruined it for me a little bit.”

In a dramatic turn at the Madrid Open in 2017, Bouchard scooped a victory against her rival Sharapova. When Sharapova was quizzed about their previous scuffle, she coolly stated: “I don’t have anything to say I am way above that.”

Bouchard also took to the court against Dayana Yastremska as well, who had her own run-in with a ban following a positive test for a banned substance.

Post-match, Bouchard couldn’t resist a sassy jab on social media, posting: “There’s something about playing dopers in Madrid,” appearing to throw shade at both Sharapova and Yastremska, but she quickly deleted her dig.