"I like pickles" - Eugenie Bouchard affirms her love for pickleball after over a month on the PPA Tour

Eugenie Bouchard recently expressed her admiration for pickleball, having spent over a month on the PPA tour.

The 29-year-old Canadian shocked the tennis fraternity last September when she made the switch from the WTA tour to the PPA tour. When asked about the sudden turn, Bouchard admitted that she got an offer which was too good to refuse. She went on to also insist that her decision in no way meant that she was calling time on her tennis career.

Bouchard officially made her pickleball debut on January 10, but went down in straight sets to Ekaterina Biakina in her opening match.

Now, after a little over a month on tour, Bouchard publically exclaimed her love for the sport.

In a four-part Instagram post, Bouchard could be seen in action on the pickleball court. Sporting a blue top and yellow shoes, she added images of her trading forehands and backhands and just soaking the whole experience in.

The caption for the post was:

"I love pickles"

Bouchard's cousin, Celeste, dropped a comment on her post, stating that she "loves" the sport.

"I LOVE pickles," Celeste wrote.

Celeste Bouchard, Eugenie Bouchard's cousin, dropped a comment on her post

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Eugenie Bouchard became the first Canadian to reach a Major singles final

Eugenie Bouchard during the Ladies' Singles final match against Petra Kvitova at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2014 in London, England - Getty Images

Eugenie Bouchard had a successful run on the WTA tour during the initial stages of her career, winning the 2012 Wimbledon girls' title as a junior. Her exploits earned her the WTA Newcomer of the Year at the end of the 2013 season.

Bouchard broke through on the senior circuit the following season, reaching the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open and 2014 French Open. She won her first and only WTA tour title that season at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup, beating Karolina Pliskova in the final.

At the Wimbledon Championships that season, she became the first Canadian-born player to ever reach the finals of a Grand Slam. She beat Daniela Hantuchová, Sílvia Soler Espinosa, Andrea Petkovic, Alizé Cornet, and Angelique Kerber, en route to her third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. In the last four, she brushed aside Simona Halep, the World No. 3 at the time, in straight sets.

Playing her first-ever Grand Slam final, she ultimately fell to Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

Despite her incredible success during the 2014 season, Bouchard saw a decline and has not won a title on the tour since. She last featured on tour at the Guadalajara Open in September 2023.