Eugenie Bouchard reached the top of the tennis world before the weight of expectations became too much for the Canadian sensation.
Bouchard revealed the chaos that enveloped her life after making the 2014 Wimbledon final at just 20 years old triggered a “rebellious phase,” which caused her career to spiral.
Bouchard, who retired from professional tennis after last summer’s Canadian Open at just 31 years old, opened up about the trials and tribulations that came with her sudden rise to fame a decade ago.
“After that (Wimbledon) final, my life became chaotic: Media attention, sponsors, changes on every level,” she told the Tennis Insider Club, per the Daily Mail. “Everything around me changed, which didn’t help short-term, plus the weight of expectations.
“Before, winning was amazing and losing normal – now winning was expected, losing a catastrophe. Anything short of a final was failure.”
Bouchard rose to stardom by reaching the Wimbledon final as well as the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open in 2014. While she ultimately lost at Wimbledon to Petra Kvitova, she became a near-instant online sensation.
Bouchard was ‘suffering a lot’
After reaching a career-high No. 5 world ranking, Bouchard admitted that expectations took a toll on her mental health.
“After an excellent 2014, 2015 was very difficult for me,” she said. “It was tough because mental health wasn’t discussed like it is today and back then I was suffering a lot – I simply didn’t dare talk about it.
“Even admitting you saw a therapist was strange. People thought you were crazy or weak. I’m happy it’s become a completely normal topic, glad things have changed, but I went through a very difficult period and couldn’t talk about it.”
How did a haircut cost Bouchard big?
With the increased pressure and scrutiny, Bouchard began to express herself in “rebellious ways” – including going viral with a controversial haircut by shaving an under-cut.
“To be fair, I wanted a very small under-cut thing,” she said on the Ok Sweetie podcast. “I don’t know what happened, but it was literally half my head.”
It was this drastic change that caused her to lose a key sponsorship deal.
“I feel like I look like a cancer patient. I was like, ‘This is not the look I was going for.’ It was way worse than I intended, but it caused me not to get my Rolex deal renewed,” she said.
The Montreal native claimed the luxury watch maker emailed her agent to suggest that the new look “did not align” with the company’s public image.
Since retiring, Bouchard has turned to playing professional pickleball while also maintaining a massive online following. She still boasts more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram, keeping them up to date with all of her adventures around the world.