Bouchard on the Canadian tennis wave: 'It’s the second-most popular sport now in Canada after hockey'

Eugenie Bouchard has revealed how tennis has grown in popularity in Canada over recent years.

The former World No. 5 is currently competing for Team Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville, Spain, along with Leylah Fernandez, Rebecca Marino, Gabriela Dabrowski, and Marina Stakusic. The team, led by Heidi El Tabakh, will face Spain and Poland in the Group Stage of the tournament. This comes as tennis in Canada continues to increase in popularity following great success in recent years, making it difficult to believe that Bouchard was the first Canadian player to make a Grand Slam final, which she achieved at Wimbledon in 2014 before ending her campaign as runner-up to Petra Kvitova.

Just two years later, Milos Raonic became the first Canadian man to reach a final at a major when he finished as runner-up to Andy Murray at Wimbledon 2016. Then, in 2019, Bianca Andreescu achieved the huge feat of becoming the first Canadian player to win a Grand Slam, defeating Serena Williams in the final of the US Open.

While speaking to Billiejeankingcup.com, Bouchard spoke of the "amazing" tennis boom in her home country. "Tennis has grown a lot in Canada. We’ve seen it over the last five, 10, 15 years. It’s been an honor to be a part of that wave and see it continue with other generations as well. "I would say it’s the second-most popular sport now in Canada after hockey. Nothing will beat that, but at least we have the No. 2 spot," the 29-year-old said.

"I hear so many stories of tennis clubs and summer camps being full. I was just training in Montreal and I could not get a practice court over the weekend – it was insane. "It makes me so happy, and I hope it keeps growing and kids keep picking up a tennis racket or getting involved in any sport, for that matter. That’s the most important thing. It’s amazing," she continued.

Following Andreescu's victory at Flushing Meadows, Fernandez made the final of the US Open in 2021, where she finished as runner-up to Emma Raducanu. This year, Dabrowski brought more success to Canada, winning the doubles title along with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe at the 2023 US Open.