“Are you happy, Eugenie? »
Published at 6:00 a.m.
Our interview took off with this question. Both banal and fundamental. Eugenie Bouchard has been discreet in recent years. Not out of indifference, but rather out of distrust.
When she walked through the main entrance gate of the IGA stadium, a few minutes earlier, she was already wearing a big smile. She had almost scampered to hug coach Sylvain Bruneau, present at Tennis Canada headquarters. The Montrealer presented herself in her best light, in a brown wool sweater and loose jeans. Above all, she named herself first. As if she needed to.
“Yes, I’m happy,” she finally replied, sitting comfortably in one of the management’s offices. Attentive for more than an hour, the 30-year-old athlete abandoned herself to the heart of a frank and taboo discussion thanks to her openness, receptivity and humility.
PHOTO NICHOLAS RICHARD, THE PRESS
Eugenie Bouchard in interview with our journalist at the IGA stadium
Quickly during the exchange, she put her cards on the table, affirming that she was always driven by competition. Even if she now moves a little further from the spotlight, sport still defines her daily life. At least this is what contributes the most to his happiness and fulfillment.
With what I did in pickleball, with tennis, I’m happy.
Eugenie Bouchard
Love of tennis
Eugenie Bouchard participated in only three tennis tournaments in 2024. “ [Mais] I’m going to play tennis again next year,” assures the former fifth player in the world from the outset.
– How often ?
“I don’t know yet. It was a bit of a weird year, very different. »
For the past year, Bouchard has alternated between two models of snowshoes. The one for tennis and the one for pickleball.
“It was stimulating. It was fulfilling to do something new. I had been doing the same thing for 25 years. So, using my brain differently, developing new skills, it was really fun! »
However, she still thrives on the desire to win tennis matches. This sport is his whole life. It’s her world, her reference point and where she feels most alive.
I like playing tennis. I love it more than pickleball, obviously, because that’s what I’ve been doing since I was a kid. I’m not ready to give up. Every time I go back to the field, I love it so much. I never lost the passion.
Eugenie Bouchard
Tennis, “it’s something I’ve mastered for a long time,” recalls the Wimbledon finalist in 2014. And as she talks about it, her eyes become as bright as the gold “1994” chain and pendant she wears on her wrist. neck. At 30, she is not yet ready to deny what is still her oxygen to this day.
“Every time I go back to a field, I forgot how much I loved it and how bored I was. »
The choice of pickleball
The Québécoise’s agents contacted her during the United States Open in 2023. She was then 215e in the WTA rankings. The PPA, the professional pickleball circuit, was looking for active or retired tennis players to promote their activities.
“It was mainly to sell the sport, to sell the league,” explains Eugenie Bouchard. But afterwards, I understood that I was going to be able to stay longer in North America, that it was a little less physical, especially since I was getting injured more often because of tennis. »
She also wants, with this new career, to build bridges between the two disciplines, because “there is enough room for both”. In addition to being motivated by the desire to “be part of something that is growing.” »
Bouchard therefore touched a pickleball racket for the first time in January. “I started from the base. The lowest level you can imagine. »
She is reaching the end of her first year of contract, during which she played 16 tournaments, and she is at 19e world rank. “The more the year progressed, the more I enjoyed it. Because doing something when you’re not good is no fun! »
