Eugenie Bouchard & Jack Sock embarrassedly admit their tennis friends would laugh at them for playing pickleball mixed doubles at The Masters

Jack Sock and Eugenie Bouchard teaming up for the mixed doubles at the Pickleball Masters this week is yet another testament to how pickleball has gained recognition in a short period.

Sock, a former World No. 8, and former Wimbledon finalist Bouchard are among the latest crop of tennis players who’ve swapped racquets for pickleball paddles.

In a video posted on the Carvana PPA Tour’s Instagram page, the American-Canadian duo were asked what their tennis friends would say about their move to team up for the Pickleball Masters.

“Oh my god, these are hard-hitting questions. They would probably laugh at us,” said Bouchard amidst laughs.

Jack Sock, a two-time Olympic medallist with the USA, added that this would be the first time they would team up on the pickleball court.

“We’ve known each other for a long time. It started in tennis, now we’re out here in the 20x44s and yeah, we’re both enjoying pickleball. We’ve crossed paths on the tennis tour a few times and had some fun group dinners with a bunch of players. Now we’re out here looking forward to playing mixed together for the first time on the pickle court and yeah, should be a fun week,” he said.

Interestingly, the duo was clad in all whites - the traditional color combination for Wimbledon. Sock joked that they just missed Wimbledon a lot and hence took the all-white route.

“We both miss Wimbledon a lot, so we just wanted to play together and wear the all-whites this week,” he said, to which Bouchard responded by saying, “He asked me, obviously.”

"We’re going to do some damage" - Jack Sock

Despite this being their first tournament together, Jack Sock was confident that he, along with Genie Bouchard would do “some damage” and that they needed to “represent the tennis world.”

“We’re going to do some damage and people are going to be very scared of us. I think I’ve been playing a little more than her, but it’s alright, we’re gonna get this done. We’re repping the tennis world,” Sock said.

Bouchard added, “We practiced yesterday for like two hours, so that was our prep. We’re gonna go practice right now.”

Jack Sock and Bouchard began their campaign in convincing fashion as they cruised to a thumping 11-1, 11-2 win in their opening fixture and will want to keep that winning momentum going as they seek a spot in the playoffs.

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