Genie Bouchard, former world No. 5 player, to retire from professional tennis

Globe and Mail

19 hours ago

Genie Bouchard, who at one point was the fifth-ranked player in the world, will retire from professional tennis at her home tournament in Montreal later this month.
The 31-year-old announced Wednesday that the 2025 National Bank Open will be her last-ever pro tennis tournament.
'You'll know when it's time. For me, it's now,' said Bouchard in a post on X. 'Ending where it all started: Montreal.'
Tennis Canada said in a release she will receive a main draw wildcard for the Montreal WTA event.
In 2014, she skyrocketed to a career-high No. 5 in the WTA world rankings. That whirlwind season saw her make the semifinals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. Then she became the first Canadian-born player to reach the final of a major singles tournament when she finished runner-up to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon.
As Bouchard struggled to maintain that level of success in later years, her ranking dropped.
Still, she leaves tennis as one of the best Canadian players of all time with two WTA titles (one in singles, one in doubles), 11 finals appearances (seven in singles) and a total record of 299 wins and 230 losses.
She also won a junior singles title at Wimbledon in 2012.
Bouchard crosses over to the pro pickleball circuit, tennis still remains in her plans
She played in the 2016 Rio Olympics and on several Canadian teams at the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) between 2011 and 2020, including the team that won Canada's first title in 2023.
However, Bouchard has not played many professional tennis tournaments in recent years while she has pursued pro pickleball and been working as a studio analyst on the Tennis Channel.
She joined the Professional Pickleball Association in 2024 and currently has a world ranking of No. 12 in women's singles. She's ranked 40th in both women's and mixed doubles. She has her own Versix Vector signature pickleball paddle, and because of the fame she's brought from her tennis life, Bouchard's matches are often slated for centre court.
All the while, Bouchard had insisted she was not yet done with tennis.
Last week, she made a sudden return to pro tennis when she appeared as a wildcard entry in a WTA 125 grass tennis event, the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island. She lost her first-round match there, to American Anna Rogers. She did win a doubles match at the event, alongside Poland's Olivia Lincer.
Genie Bouchard says her greatest achievement was inspiring kids to learn tennis
Prior to Newport, Bouchard's last pro tennis match had been in qualifying at the 2024 National Bank Open in Toronto, and she last featured at a Grand Slam event in the U.S. Open qualifiers in August of 2023.
Bouchard is also known for the huge audience she has built on social media, including 2.3 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million on X.
She told The Globe and Mail during a 2023 interview that her runners-up plate from Wimbledon is one of her most treasured possessions. She added that one of her proudest achievements was having played a role in growing tennis participation in Canada.
'Something that has always struck me hearing throughout the years since having some great results was how inspired kids in Canada were to play tennis, and how tennis summer camps were all booked up,' said Bouchard. 'Having been a part of that, to me, is such a great honor and accomplishment.'
Tennis Canada echoed that in its statement.
'Few athletes have left as profound a mark on Canadian tennis as Genie [Bouchard] has throughout her extraordinary career,' said Gavin Ziv, Chief Executive Officer, Tennis Canada. 'As one of the very first players to ever be part of the National Tennis Centre presented by Rogers in Montreal, she achieved things that many thought would be impossible for Canadian players.'