Eugenie Bouchard "crying" as she reacts to Sloane Stephens and family's Christmas tree prep fail

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard laughed out loud to a festive blooper involving her friend and former doubles partner, Sloane Stephens. Stephens shared a comic Instagram clip showcasing her family's struggle with a Christmas tree that hilariously refused to stay upright.

Stephens is making the most of the off-season after concluding her 2024 tennis campaign with a mixed showing at the Hana Bank Korea Open. The American tennis star suffered a first-round singles loss to Hailey Baptiste, 6-7(4), 2-6, but reached the doubles quarterfinals with Su-jeong Jang before losing 4-6, 4-6 to Miyu Kato and Zhang Shuai.

On December 3, 2024, Stephens shared a lighthearted video on Instagram that captured her family’s attempts at fixing a decorated Christmas tree. The short clip featured Stephens’ mother, Sybil Smith, and other family members working together to stabilize the tree. Just as the job seemed done, the tree dramatically toppled over, eliciting startled screams from everyone in the room.

"When life comes at you fast," Stephens captioned the video.

Eugenie Bouchard couldn't resist commenting under Stephens' post, writing:

"Cryinggggg."

Screengrab of Eugenie Bouchard's comment under Sloane Stephens' post on Instagram (instagram.com/p/DDImT1kxHWB/)

On the court, Bouchard and Stephens have faced each other five times, with the former leading the head-to-head record 3-2. Their latest match was at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Bouchard won in straight sets.

Eugenie Bouchard and Sloane Stephens teamed up for doubles in seven tournaments over the years. Their standout performance was reaching the final of the 2017 Citi Open, where they fell 3-6, 2-6 to Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voracova. They also made it to the quarterfinals at the 2018 Montreal Open.

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Eugenie Bouchard and Sloane Stephens were featured in the 2018 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Sloane Stephens during the 2024 BNP Paribas Open (Image source: Getty)

Sloane Stephens and Eugenie Bouchard appeared in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, joining golfer Paige Spiranac, gymnast Aly Raisman, and Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby.

Fresh off her first Grand Slam victory at the 2017 US Open, Stephens had already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's September issue. However, 2018 marked her debut in the swimsuit edition. New to the modeling scene, Stephens candidly admitted it took some time to get comfortable posing in such minimal attire.

"Once you get comfortable and feel so good about yourself, there's no stopping you," Stephens told SI. "You can actually look super sexy in a swimsuit and be a really awesome athletic girl."

It was Bouchard's second consecutive feature in the SI Swimsuit issue. Reflecting on her return to the shoot, she shared her experience:

"It was definitely easier! I was much less nervous this time around," Bouchard said. "I felt I had experience from my first SI shoot which helped me for this second one. I actually asked MJ to 'go for it' more in this shoot because I felt so comfortable."

Sloane Stephens is set to begin her 2025 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, a tournament she previously won in 2016. Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard last competed in a main draw at the 2023 Guadalajara Open in Mexico, where she reached the second round.

In 2024, Bouchard received a wildcard for the National Bank Open in Toronto but exited in the qualifying round. The 30-year-old is now actively competing on the PPA Tour.