Genie Bouchard Looks Powerful in Snaps From Milestone Pickleball Tour Win

The dual sport athlete just recorded an impressive upset in a Las Vegas pickleball tournament.

Genie Bouchard / Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Genie Bouchard is used to milestone achievements on the court. Having played professional tennis for more than a decade, the 30-year-old has racked up quite the list of achievements. Though she never took home a coveted Grand Slam title, the athlete made several deep runs in a number of the four majors over the years. Beyond that, she has one career title to her name and a career-high ranking of No. 5 on the WTA circuit.

These days, though, Bouchard has taken a partial step back from the game. She’s far from retired—having competed in a few majors qualifiers over the summer as well as a handful of smaller tournaments (in both the singles and doubles draws)—but she is no longer spending all of her time with a tennis racket in hand.

These days, she has traded some of that time on the tennis court for time on a different sort of court: pickleball. Last year, the Canadian athlete announced that she would be signing onto the Carvana PPA Tour—the professional pickleball tour—for the 2024 season. And this year, she has made good on that announcement.

It’s been an adjustment to be sure. Of course, some of her tennis skills have managed to transfer to the pickleball court. In our opinion, she has picked up the game far faster than a non-professional tennis player could. But in an interview with tennis.com in early August, Bouchard shared that she still doesn’t yet feel particularly proficient in the sport. “I don’t feel like I’m masterful at pickleball yet,” she admitted. She’s still in the process of translating her racket skills into paddle skills.

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But on Oct. 10, she recorded a milestone win on the PPA Tour. Competing at the Rate Championships in Las Vegas, the No. 16-seeded Bouchard notched a 11-4, 11-8 upset victory over the No. 3-seeded Lea Jansen in the Round of 16. The win propelled the multi-sport athlete to her first quarterfinal appearance on the PPA Tour. In other words, it was a monumental moment for Bouchard.

The athlete wasn’t finished yet, though. With another win in the quarters, she advanced to the semifinals before losing to the higher-seeded Kate Fahey in three sets. To close out the tournament, she is set to play No. 2 ranked Catherine Parenteau in a consolation match to determine third place. Regardless of the outcome, though, it won’t have been a wasted trip for Bouchard.