Eugenie Bouchard decided to leave tennis behind of sorts at the end of 2023 going over to become a professional pickleball player. But she is back on the tennis court and winning.
Bouchard sealed an opening win over Justina Mikulskyte 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round at an ITF tournament in Zephyrhills which is a W75 green clay tournament. The former Wimbledon finalist lives in Florida so the tournament is just the road from her. But what her future ambitions are remain to be seen.
It was a first match on a tennis court for Bouchard since she played at the Billie Jean King Cup won by Canada in November. She technically also played at the Netflix Slam in March, but that is more of an exhibition than an actual match. Winning in just under an hour and a half, it will be interesting to see where Bouchard goes next.
Fanny Stollar or Maya Joint await in the second round with Kayla Day who is ranked inside the top 100 in the WTA Rankings looming as top seed in her section and they could play in the Quarter-Finals if Bouchard gets that far. But overall, it is positive signs so far for the Canadian.
Her ball striking and how well she was playing was lauded in the second set. All of this considering that she hasn't played for some time is all a positive. Albeit at a lower level, so it is hard to gauge. But that can often prove to be a bit of a banana skin especially for former top names returning to the court.
A year on from a run which saw her attempting to qualify for major tournaments then making a pickleball switch, could we see a return to form for Bouchard heading into the latter half of 2024? Time will tell.
