"My hands were sweating" - Eugenie Bouchard reveals how Princess Eugenie's presence made her nervous during Wimbledon 2014 final

Eugenie Bouchard opened up about her scariest moment on the court during her recent appearance on CBC's Family Feud Canada.

Bouchard, who was named after Princess Eugenie of York, shared how the presence of her namesake in the crowd affected her performance in the 2014 Wimbledon final.

Bouchard made the candid confession during her third appearance on CBC’s Family Feud Canada last week, where she participated along with her siblings William and Beatrice, her cousin Celeste, and her ex-boyfriend Ryan Shepherd.

Bouchard, who won the junior Wimbledon title in 2012, became the first player from Canada to reach the final of a Major singles tournament in 2014. The Canadian faced 2011 champion Petra Kvitova but got overwhelmed by the Czech's power and precision, losing 6-3, 6-0 in just 55 minutes.

In a video posted on the official Family Feud Canada Instagram account, Bouchard recounted her scariest moment on the tennis court to host Gerry Dee.

"Scariest moment would be when I played in the 2014 Wimbledon final," she said. "Princess Eugenie was watching me play and I was named after her, so I just kept looking in the box the entire time. They sit in the special royal box, all the Royals do. And that must be the reason why I lost."

Dee asked her if she knew that the princess was there, and Bouchard said:

"Yeah, my agent told me right before the match which just added to my nerves, my hands were sweating."

Bouchard also shared pictures from her appearance on the show after victory on Instagram on Saturday, March 9.

"WE WON!!! What a cool life experience. Go Team Bouchard @familyfeudcanada," Bouchard wrote.

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Eugenie Bouchard hasn't reached any Grand Slam semi-final since the 2014 Wimbledon Championships

Eugenie Bouchard at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships

Eugenie Bouchard has not reached a Grand Slam semi-final since 2014 and has fallen to No. 303 in the world as of March 2024.

Bouchard’s breakthrough year was 2014, when she won her first and only WTA singles title at the Nuremberg Cup and made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open, losing to eventual champions Li Na and Maria Sharapova respectively.

The 30-year-old then reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to Petra Kvitova. However, Bouchard could not sustain her momentum in the second half of 2014. She reached another final at the Wuhan Open but again lost to Kvitova in straight sets. The Canadian then failed to win a single match in the round-robin stage at the WTA Finals.

Bouchard’s woes continued in 2015, as she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, but lost to Sharapova in straight sets. The Canadian's worst moment came at the US Open, where she suffered a concussion after slipping and falling in the locker room. She withdrew from the tournament and sued the United States Tennis Association for negligence, which was settled in 2018.

Eugenie Bouchard’s doubles career has also been unremarkable, with only one WTA title to her name, at the 2019 ASB Classic with Sofia Kenin. She has never reached a Grand Slam final in doubles.