Eugenie Bouchard joining professional pickleball circuit

Eugenie Bouchard is about to embark on a new professional sports career: pickleball.

Bouchard used social media to announce that she will be joining the Carvana PPA pickleball tour starting next year.

It's not clear if this means that Bouchard will quit the world of professional tennis, or how she'll compete in pickleball — in doubles, mixed doubles or singles.

Bouchard's best performances as a professional tennis player came in 2014, when she reached the final at Wimbledon and the semifinals of the Australian and French Opens and was ranked fifth in the world.

But since then, Bouchard has struggled and is currently ranked 215th on the WTA tour, with nine wins and nine defeats this season.

Pickleball continues to grow in popularity and the PPA tour, founded in 2018, consists of 25 tournaments a year across 14 states. Prize money is small compared to the tennis world, however, with the largest purse available being about $300,000 US.

Bouchard, who is originally from Westmount, Que., currently lives in Florida.

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