"My first time playing!" - Genie Bouchard has fun switching tennis racket for padel session

Eugenie Bouchard seems to have joined the padel bandwagon as she recently tried her hand at the popular racquet sport. It was her first time playing padel and she seemed to be having some fun while at it.

The Canadian tennis star has been hard at preparing for the 2023 tennis season over the last few weeks. After her latest practice session on the tennis court, the former Wimbledon finalist indulged in a bit of padel and made things interesting by playing left-handed.

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"Some post tennis practice padel. My first time playing!!! And left handed lol," Eugenie Bouchard wrote on Instagram with a video of her padel session.

Padel's popularity has been growing at a rapid pace and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal himself spoke about his liking for the racket sport that bears resemblance to tennis. Padel is played on a hard surface and the usual court size is approximately 25% less than that of a tennis court. Nadal recently suggested that he could play padel a lot more actively after his retirement from tennis.

"I like sport in general. I play golf. I think I'll grab a padel racket, why not? I am sure that in the future I will have more time to enjoy other sports. Padel is growing and I think it will be fun because it's easier to play," Nadal said in an interview with Padel Magazine.

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Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see whether Bouchard's first-ever experience of playing padel will motivate her to play again.