'I'd Love To Help Grow The Sport': Bouchard Hopes To 'Bring' Tennis Fans To Pickleball

| by Nurein Ahmed

Eugenie Bouchard is clearly relishing her new challenge as a pickleball bro and recently talked about her long-term goals within the paddle sports landscape.

Bouchard is set to celebrate her 30th birthday in just a few days, and she has been playing pickleball since the start of 2024. Pickleball has gained traction in the last three years and has topped the charts as the fastest-growing sport in the United States.

She has not formally quit tennis and is still ranked in the world's Top 300 despite playing her last competitive match in September 2023 at the Guadalajara Open. Bouchard hasn't entered into any WTA tournament this season.

However, she has been called upon to play a few exhibition tennis tournaments. Bouchard featured in the Women's Tennis Classic - a one-off exhibition match against Caroline Wozniacki before the start of the main draw action of the ATP event in Dallas, Texas, in early February.

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The former Wimbledon finalist is also slated to play a mixed doubles match at the Netflix Slam in early March. Bouchard has already immersed herself in the uncharted waters of pickleball, playing her first pro tournament last month.

It was far from an ideal start as she lost all three matches she contested on the same day, and she termed the experience as "nerve-wracking." The 29-year-old recently outlined her future plans in pickleball during an interview on the PPA Tour podcast on YouTube.

"Wow, I would love to have accomplished really cool things in pickleball. I would have loved to help grow the sport. I think if I can bring over some of my fanbase, tennis fans to pickle and even vice versa, pickle to tennis."

"And I want to continue to play tennis events, play a bunch of pickleball events. You know it's hectic and busy, but it's super exciting, and I think this is the time for me to do these things right now."

Bouchard still intends to play on the WTA tour, but it is unclear when that will happen, given her commitment to pickleball. In the same interview, she also talked about her desire to get married and have kids as life's ultimate goal.

"I do want to get married and have a bunch of kids as well, um, so that's on my list later on. I'm in a family of four, so you know our parents will be busy grandparents, um, but yeah, you know, just do these things in life that fulfill me, and I think that's the whole point of life, right."

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