Canadian icon Eugenie Bouchard announces her tennis retirement

A special invitation

Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard is retiring from the sport at the age of 31 after struggling with form and injuries in recent years. Bouchard will bring an end to her career at the National Bank Open in Montreal after receiving a wildcard from the tournament. Here is her story.

Someone who's been through it all

Bouchard knows what it's like to be the next big thing – and what it's like to fall just as fast. But what makes her story worth following today isn't the rankings or the headlines. It's her quiet persistence, her physical transformation, and her willingness to keep evolving – even if that means starting from scratch in a whole new sport.

Intense playing style

Her game was fearless – flat-hitting, ultra-aggressive, and built on a take-the-ball-early style that disrupted even the best on tour. Combine that with a confident presence and marketable charisma, and Bouchard was suddenly everywhere: Sports Illustrated covers, endorsement deals, prime-time show courts.

Rise to the top 5

By the end of that breakthrough year, she'd reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world and looked poised to stay at the top for years to come.

Turning point

But tennis rarely sticks to the script. In the seasons that followed, Bouchard struggled to recapture that magic. Confidence wavered, results dipped, and a concussion sustained at the 2015 US Open marked a turning point– both physically and mentally.

Lack of consistency

Her aggressive style, once her biggest weapon, began to feel rushed and erratic without the rock-solid timing that had fuelled her rise. And in a sport that demands week-to-week resilience, her consistency slipped.

Injury woes

Add to that a shoulder injury that required surgery and stints off the tour for most of 2021 to recover, and it's easy to see how things unravelled for Bouchard.

Keeping in top shape

It wasn't through lack of trying, though. Physically, Bouchard did her best to get her body in the best shape for elite competition.

Strenth and conditioning

Gone is the slight frame of her early 20s; in its place is a stronger, more muscular athlete who's clearly spent serious time in the gym. She focused on explosiveness, conditioning, and durability – essentials for someone who's had to claw her way back from injury time and again.

Spends most of the day training

Bouchard, who occasionally posts videos of herself working out to her followers on Instagram, told Elle that she was very focused on her training, which included at least four hours of on-court training a day, as well as additional sessions in the gym later on.

"I'm very disciplined and focused"

"I'm very disciplined and focused; I need to be," Genie divulged to Elle Canada. "If I do something then I'll commit."

Fighting to stay in the game

In 2021, she made a small but notable return to form, reaching the final in Guadalajara, her first WTA final in over five years. And though injuries sidelined her again soon after, she continued to battle through qualifying draws and smaller events, always fighting to stay relevant in a sport that moves fast.

Making headlines once again

Until 2023, when Bouchard's path took a fresh and unexpected turn by announcing her move into professional pickleball, joining the PPA Tour.

A side step?

For some, it seemed like a pivot away from tennis. For Bouchard, it looks more like an expansion.

Suited to her natural game

The fast-paced, reaction-heavy style of pickleball suits her natural instincts: quick hands, early timing, and aggressive court positioning. And just like tennis a decade earlier, she's approaching it with competitive fire and a desire to grow.

New challenge

"I was like, you know, 'I'd love to challenge myself to try something new,'" Bouchard told Tennis in 2024. "And also to be a part of something that is so trending and growing so much, that was really appealing to me. It was also something I could do while still playing some tennis tournaments. So that's why I was like, 'yes, sign me up.'"

Still chasing the WTA

As of April 2025, Bouchard has become a major player on the PPA Tour. With her retirement confirmed on the WTA Tour, she can now focus on being the best pickleball player she can be.