Eugenie Bouchard, the Canadian tennis star who reached the Wimbledon final in 2014, has joined the BBC presenting team for this year's Championships. The 32-year-old has been outspoken about the role sex appeal plays in promoting tennis players, both on and off the court.
Bouchard's Comments on Sex Appeal in Tennis
In a 2024 podcast episode with YouTuber Valeria Lipovetsky, Bouchard said: "Tennis, first of all, is a great sport for that sex appeal side. We're wearing short skirts, we're wearing tank tops. It's fun to turn on the TV and watch that." She added that her appearance helped secure marketing deals and invitations to the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Career Highlights and Transition
Bouchard's breakthrough came at Wimbledon 2014 when she reached the women's singles final at age 20, losing to Petra Kvitova. She also advanced to two Grand Slam semi-finals but never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at major tournaments thereafter. Her final Wimbledon main-draw appearance was in 2019; she entered qualifying in 2023 but lost in straight sets to Greet Minnen.
Although she officially retired from tennis in 2025, Bouchard turned professional in pickleball in 2024 and currently ranks 12th in the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) world rankings.
Addressing Criticism
In 2019, Bouchard told The Telegraph about accusations of prioritizing social media over tennis: "I think everyone cares what people think about them so saying, 'I don't care about them at all,' would be a lie. Obviously I do care just like everybody else would. I also try to take it as a compliment because it means you've done something, stood up for something, created enough emotion for them to engage with you." She compared herself to famous figures with many haters, such as Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump.
