Eugenie Bouchard makes major donation announcement to help devastated LA wildfire victims

Eugenie Bouchard has joined relief efforts to help victims of the wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles area. Wildfires across Los Angeles that erupted last week have claimed 25 lives, destroyed thousands of structures, and displaced approximately 180,000 people.

Bouchard, ranked as high as No. 5 in the world in 2014, has been featured as one of the participants in the #NotAloneChallenge, which has vowed to provide relief to those mentally traumatized by the wildfires. The #NotAloneChallenge has been started by platinum-selling music artist Jewel and her 22-year-old Inspiring Children Foundation to raise awareness around mental health.

The highest bidder will win a chance to enjoy a game of tennis or pickleball with the former Wimbledon finalist. Bouchard posted a link to the website of the charitable foundation and encouraged her 2.3 million followers to make a bid.

At the time of filing this report, Bouchard had attracted six bids, with the highest at $1,000.

Notably, fellow tennis stars Sam Querrey and James Blake, like Bouchard, are also a part of the charitable event, and set to play either pickleball or tennis with the person making the highest donation.

Instagram | @geniebouchard

The Inspiring Children Foundation has announced that all the proceeds will go towards supporting children and families devastated by the wildfire through their emotional and mental trauma.

“All proceeds through March will support healing the emotional and mental trauma of children and families devastated by the Southern California fire,” the foundation said in a statement.

Several tennis stars have expressed sorrow at the plight of those affected by the rampant wildfires in LA. Notably, ATP No. 4 Taylor Fritz has donated the prize money he earned after his first-round win in the ongoing Australian Open to wildfire relief funds.

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What has Eugenie Bouchard been up to?

Andre Agassi and Eugenie Bouchard play pickleball at Life Time PENN 1 - Source: Getty

Eugenie Bouchard, a former Wimbledon finalist, turned her attention to pickleball as her star started fading in tennis. In 2024, the Canadian became a professional pickleball player and began competing on the pro tour of pickleball (PPA Tour).

The Canadian has soared up to the No. 17 spot in the PPA Tour rankings. In tennis, on the other hand, Bouchard has fallen outside the Top 1000 in the rankings.

Eugenie Bouchard is also set to participate in the Pickleball Slam featuring a $1 million cash purse. The big-ticket event will feature Bouchard and former ATP No. 1 Andy Roddick challenging the team of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf for their Pickleball Slam crown.

The highly publicized event will be held at the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on February 16. Agassi and his wife Graf won the 2024 Pickleball Slam defeating fellow tennis legends John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova.