Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard joins pro pickleball tournament

Is Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard moving to a new court?

The 29-year-old athlete from Westmount, Que., is joining a professional pickleball tour in 2024 — though little is known about the move.

The Carvana Professional Pickleball Tour made the announcement late Thursday, describing it as “one of the biggest signings of the year.”

Bouchard shared the post on her Instagram but didn’t provide more details and didn’t make any mention of what that means for her tennis career. Global News reached out to Bouchard but did not hear back by publication time.

Bouchard, who once reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 and appeared at Wimbledon in 2014, currently stands at 215th on the WTA Tour. She was on the tennis court as recently as last month.

The Montreal-born player lost in the qualifying round at the National Bank Open in her hometown in early August. A few weeks later, Bouchard fell to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the second round of qualifying at the U.S. Open.

The news of Bouchard joining a pickleball tournament is making waves among those who love the sport in Montreal.

Mitchell White, lead volunteer for the pickleball courts in Côte Saint-Luc, described it as “very fun and exciting.” Bouchard’s presence shows just how the sport is blossoming, he added.

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“I think this will just keep bringing it to the next level,” White said, adding that he expects pickleball’s popularity to remain on the upswing.

The move also came as a surprise to Dawid Jagiello, the general manager and part-owner of the Atwater Club. He just watched Bouchard play tennis in a tournament recently.

“She’s an athlete so I am sure she will pick it up quite fast,” he said, adding that his club would be happy to see her join its pickleball courts.

— with files from The Canadian Press