Eugenie Bouchard set to make first tennis appearance of the season despite pivoting to pickleball

Eugenie Bouchard is all set to return to tennis and will play her first tournament of the year at Zephyrhills W75 tournament.

Bouchard was on a brief hiatus from tennis, having last played at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup as a member of Team Canada. She played two doubles matches, paired with Gabriela Dabrowski. They won both matches, which saw Canada advance to the knockout stages and ultimately win the competition, defeating Italy in the final.

The Canadian had taken up pickleball and was announced as the new signing by the PPA tour in September 2023. She played her first match in January 2024 and went on to lose her first three singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches. In April 2024, she won her first match due to her opponent, Dominique Schaefer, giving a walkover.

Even though the Canadian joined the PPA Tour, she maintained that she had not quit tennis. Now, the 2014 Wimbledon runners-up is set for a return to tennis at the Zephyrhills W75 tournament in Florida, United States, which would be her first tennis tournament of the year. She was given a wildcard entry into the tournament.

The Canadian has already begun preparing for the tournament. She uploaded a video on TikTok, which was then shared by a fan on X (formerly Twitter) account.

The tournament is set to take place between May 6 to May 12 with Kayla Day, Lulu Sun, and Ann Li as the top seeds.

Eugenie Bouchard's lukewarm 2023 season

Eugenie Bouchard pictured at the Madrid Open

Eugenie Bouchard started the 2023 year by winning the first qualifier match at the ASB Classic against Ann Li but gave a walkover in the second match of the qualifier. At the 2023 Australian Open, the Canadian lost to Ashlyn Krueger in the first qualifying round.

At the Madrid Open, she won her two qualifying matches to set up a first-round match against Dayana Yastremska. She defeated the Ukrainian in three sets, before losing to Martina Trevisan in the second round.

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist couldn't make it past Greet Minnen in the first qualifying match at the Wimbledon 2023 and faltered in the Canadian Open and US Open qualifying as well.

At the Guadalajara Open, she was given a wildcard into the main draw. The 30-year-old defeated Renata Zarazua in the first round but lost to Veronika Kudermetova in a tough second-round encounter.

Now, Eugenie Bouchard, ranked 346 in the world, will play in an ITF tournament in the United States to mark her return to tennis.