A former Wimbledon finalist has been rushed to hospital after suffering a freak injury while playing pickleball.
Eugenie Bouchard, 30, of Canada, is a professional tennis star but also plays pickleball, which is a game that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis and can be played indoors or outdoors.
Active on the pickleball tour, she has achieved varied success in the sport, including a win over world No 3 Lea Jansen. She is one of a number of former tennis pros to make the jump, also including Jack Sock and Donald Young.
In tennis, meanwhile, she has one singles title to her name and a career high ranking of fifth in the world. She is currently ranked 1007, 10 years on from her career high.
She reached the final of Wimbledon in 2014, losing against Petra Kvitova, while she also reached the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens in her most successful year in the sport.
And while she continues to try and spin a number of plates, her immediate focus is on her health, after she ended up in hospital with a freak sporting injury.
Eugenie Bouchard was rushed to hospital after picking up a freak injury playing pickleball
The former Wimbledon finalist took to social media to share the news to her 2.3m followers
The Canadian explained how the injury was picked up via ‘a shank off my partner’s paddle straight into the eye’
Reaching a career high rank of 5 in the world in 2014, she missed out in the Wimbledon final
Taking to Instagram, the star told her 2.3million followers: ‘Got hit in the eye with a pickleball during training today.
‘It was a shank off my partner’s paddle straight into the eye. Went to urgent care and have a scratched cornea.
‘The things we do for this sport! Will be healed in a matter of days.’
Accompanying the posts were two photos of the star – one showing off her swollen eye, which was closer, and other with her thumb up as she donned an eye patch.
It wasn’t the first time she has been in the wars in pickleball, either. Last month, one opponent slammed the ball at her from point-blank range, though there were no lasting injuries.
As a youngster, Bouchard was a promising tennis star and had her success in 2014 when she was just 20 years old.
In 2012, she won the Wimbledon girls’ title as a junior, before being named the WTA Newcomer of the Year at the end of the 2013 Tour. In 2014, she was announced as the WTA Most Improved Player award winner.
Born in Montreal, she started playing tennis when she was just five years old. When she was 12, she moved to Florida to train with Nick Saviano.
She continued to achieve success as a youngster and won the Canadian Under-18 Indoor Championship when she was just 15, quickly establishing herself as one of the best players in her country.
Bouchard had storming success in 2014 but her career quickly went downhill after that
She lost her world ranking in 2022 as she faced 17 months out injured with a shoulder issue
In pickleball, she has won a total of 29 career matches, taking part in 17 tournaments
Her success at the Junior Wimbledon Championship in 2012 was the catalyst for her breaking through, and she soon joined the WTA Tour before a storming year in 2014. Things went downhill, though, from there.
By 2018 she was out of the world’s top 100, and lost her world ranking in 2022 when she endured a 17-month hiatus due to a shoulder injury.
In September 2023, she stunned fans by announcing she would be joining the Professional Pickleball Association for the 2024 season, and shares updates of her journey on social media.
In total, he was won 29 career matches, losing 51. As of this month, she has competed in 17 professional tournaments, playing in 80 professional matches.
