Eugenie Bouchard is mostly known for playing tennis, but she's set to make her professional pickleball debut on the PPA Tour.
The Canadian is not officially retired from tennis, but it doesn't seem to be her priority at the moment. Bouchard announced last year that she was going to turn professional in pickleball, and now, the week of her debut is here.
She announced her first event in December, and now she found out her first draw at the PPA Hyundai Masters, which is held between January 9th and 14th, 2024.
It will be her official pickleball debut, becoming just the latest tennis player to join the trend of playing this sport. We've seen legends like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi play some exhibition matches, and Jack Sock is also one of the players who turned professional in pickleball.
For Bouchard, it's just a great way to experience something new, as she's still excited about competing. That never left. It's just that injuries really derailed her tennis career multiple times. Pickleball gives her the chance to scratch that competitive itch.
"I'm a competitive person by nature, so it's exciting to just try something new. Kind of add this element of an exciting new opportunity with the PPA, which, the sport has so much momentum right now and everyone's talking about it."
Bouchard is no stranger to pickleball as she knows many people who play it and are obsessed with it. She enjoys it as well, and the chance to engage with it in a more professional manner and help the sport grow is exciting for her.
In her first professional event, the 2014 Wimbledon finalist entered all three draws, the women's singles, women's doubles, as well as the mixed singles, and in all events, she will avoid the initial rounds, starting in the round of 32.
In her singles debut, Bouchard will take on Ekaterina Biakina, while she will team up with Tyler Loong for the mixed doubles, where they are yet to know their opponents, and with Chao Yi Wang in the women's doubles.
"Everyone I know plays, everyone I know is obsessed with it. And so to kind of get into it in a more professional way at the elite level and bring attention to the PPA Tour, if I can bring fans over that'd be amazing, if I can just help grow the sport I would love to and just see what it's all about."
"I'm very excited my first tournament, I literally just want to enjoy the moment, enter this new world. I love challenging myself and I can't wait to see how I do."
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