A former Wimbledon finalist has been rushed to hospital after suffering a bizarre injury while playing pickleball.
Eugenie Bouchard, 30, from Canada, is a professional tennis player but also plays pickleball, a game that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis and can be played indoors or outdoors.
She was active on the pickleball tour and achieved varied success in the sport, including a victory over world No. 3 Lea Jansen. She is one of several former tennis professionals who have made the leap, including Jack Sock and Donald Young.
In tennis, meanwhile, she has one singles title to her name and a fifth place in the world rankings in her career. She currently ranks 1007th, 10 years after her career high.
She reached the Wimbledon final in 2014, losing to Petra Kvitova, while in her most successful year in the sport she also reached the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens.
And while she continues to try and spin some plates, her immediate focus is on her health after she ended up in hospital with a freak sports injury.
Eugenie Bouchard was rushed to hospital after suffering a bizarre injury while playing pickleball
The former Wimbledon finalist took to social media to share the news with her 2.3 million followers
The Canadian explained how the injury was sustained via ‘a shaft of my partner’s paddle straight into the eye’
She reached a high ranking of 5 in the world in 2014 and missed the Wimbledon final
Taking to Instagram, the star told her 2.3 million followers: ‘I got hit in the eye with a pickle during training today.
‘It was a shaft from my partner’s paddle, right in the eye. Went to the emergency room and have a scratched cornea.
‘The things we do for this sport! Will be healed in a few days.”
The posts included two photos of the star: one showed her swollen eye, which was closer, and the other with her thumbs up as she put on an eye patch.
It wasn’t the first time she had been involved in the pickleball wars, either. Last month, an opponent hit the ball at her from close range, although there were no lasting injuries.
As a youngster, Bouchard was a promising tennis player 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 WTA Newcomer of the Year at the end of the 2013 Tour. In 2014, she was announced as the winner of the WTA Most Improved Player award.
She was born in Montreal and 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 find success as a youngster, winning 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 huge success in 2014, but her career quickly went downhill after that
She lost her world ranking in 2022 when she was injured for 17 months due to a shoulder problem
In pickleball, she has won a total of 29 career matches and competed in 17 tournaments
Her success at the Junior Wimbledon Championship in 2012 was the catalyst for her breakthrough, and she soon found herself competing on the WTA Tour before a stormy year in 2014. However, from then on it went downhill.
In 2018, she was among the top 100 in the world and lost her world ranking in 2022 when she endured a 17-month hiatus due to a shoulder injury.
In September 2023, she surprised fans by announcing that she would be joining the Professional Pickleball Association for the 2024 season, and has been sharing updates from her journey on social media.
In total, he won 29 career matches and lost 51. As of this month, she has competed in 17 professional tournaments and played in 80 professional matches.